The Digital Meets the Magical
by DracoStarbo
Summary: Update: Chapter 12! A few of season 2 Chosen Children get to go to Hogwarts and learn magic, but that's not the only reason as to why they're there. Secrets and lies burried in the past will be revealed and nothing will be the same.
1. The Owls Fly

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Prolog: The Owls Fly

Author: Dragon Starbo

E-mail:

Rating: PG, will change as the chapters go on

Disclaimer: Don't and will never own Digimon or Harry Potter. I just get a kick out taking someone else's creations and seeing how horribly I can screw with the fans' heads.

Author's Notes: Um, yeah, so here I am again. Take two – or three, really. This fanfic was horrid before. Spelling errors, simple info mistakes, and way too many gaps in logic for anyone to get interested much (the kind of fanfics that I hate). So, after a few months of thinking and researching, I have come up with an improved version of this fic.

Because I don't want to deal with a lot of characters, I've limited the amount of Digi-destines in this fic. Well, the others will be mentioned, but the main characters are:

Matt – Ishida Yamato – age 15  
T.K. – Takaishi Takeru – age 12  
Kari – Kamiya Hikari – age 12  
Davis– Motomiya Daisuke – age 12

Ken – Ichijouji Ken – age 12

Cody– Hida Iori – age 10

I'm trying to please the readers (why else would I write fanfics?) but also keep in mind that I've been working on this plot for some time and if there seems to be errors in logic, remember it's just the prolog and the more chapters I write, the more it shall become clear. Well, maybe . . . Please, enjoy and if it still bugs the heck out of you, let me know. (Or if you like it let me know in a review, please. Okay, I'll stop rambling now.)

_**Prolog: The Owls Fly**_

"Man, my life is so boring right now!" Takeru sighed as he stared out of the window of his second bedroom, in his second home. His second bedroom was really his father's study, because he had turned the third bedroom into it a long time ago. Takeru had a dresser for his clothing and a futon for his bed (which was put away every day so his dad can get in there and study).

He was spending some time at his father's apartment, to shake things up. True, it was a longer commute to school, he was woken up sometimes by his father's loud snoring, and he was so sick of Yamato's "special" cooking that Takeru had to hold back tears when he smelt his older brother cooking. However, it was a change. Since the last battle of Chosen Children, where they were seen over the world, things settled down very fast. Takeru enjoyed his summer vacation, but then school started up again in April and it was a sickening mundane routine. Breakfast, school, dinner, bed; marking the days like the poles telling you that you've ran a quarter of a mile on the track.

At first, it was a pleasant change from running off to another world and putting his neck on the line. He was a normal kid again, and even though everyone knew about the last battle, after the media died down in their extra-exclusive in-depth stories about the Digital World, no one really brought it up outside of the Chosen Children amongst themselves. Takeru enjoyed how he stayed through the whole lesson without the thought of sneaking off to the computer lab afterwards to battle some evil; it was so nice to know his weekends were free time to do what he pleased.

Then it became harder and harder to stay focused in his classes, to not pace the floor on the weekends and nights when there was nothing to do. He spent a lot of time with his friends, individually and in groups, so he wouldn't be alone and bored. He went to nearly every band practice of Yamato's. And he would linger around shops and parks. Takeru did everything he could, but had to face the truth:

He had become use to being a Chosen Child.

This was a desperate thought for someone who was thrust back into a normal life. But what could Takeru do? Dump all of his responsibilities and run back into the Digital World? . . . If only . . . No, the only times he went back into the Digital World, nowadays, was to enjoy a picnic with his friends. There was nothing left to defend or help set straight. The Digimon are very capable of handing the smaller, petty crimes of stealing and such and it was really only the big, bad villains that gave them any reason to call upon the Chosen Children.

"If only . . . If only there was _something_! I don't want to put any innocent lives at risk, but couldn't there be . . . SOMETHING TO DO IN THIS BORING LIFE!" Takeru slammed his head against his book, not caring that it produced a slight ring in his ear. This action felt kind of nice, knocking some frustration loose. He hit his head against his math book and whined, "Bored! Bored! _Bored_! **Bored**!"

Just then there came a tap at the window. _Tap, tap, tap, tap_. At first, Takeru wasn't sure who was making the noise – him or the window – but looking up, he realized that there was an owl at his window with a letter tied to its leg. It was the largest owl Takeru had ever seen, its brown wings were nearly stretched as far as his arms could.

"What the heck?" Takeru opened the window and the bird flew in, amazingly keeping its balance as it folded its wings in and swooped inside the room. It circled and landed onto his futon, hooting importantly. Takeru, cautiously, approached the bird and took the letter from its leg. "Where did you come from?"

The owl gave him a look as if to say, "Just read the letter."

Takeru looked at the envelope and gazed at it in wonderment. In Japanese, it had his full name, father's apartment address, and the city and, of course, the country in which he lived. What struck him was the fact that it also said, "Study room/Third bedroom."

Sitting down on the floor, Takeru felt his gaze blur and unfocused as he tried to comprehend this. Someone, from who knows where, has sent him a letter by an owl and knew exactly where he would be. Was it an evil digimon trying to catch him off guard? Why by _owl_? Surely a digimon would use e-mail . . . could a digimon get into their world, train an owl, and send him a letter? What if it was a joke by Davis or Tai or his brother? But who trained the owl to deliver letters?!

"Ouch!" Takeru was brought out of his trance. The impatient owl had pecked him and was now pecking the corner of the envelope. "All right, already . . . Sheesh."

Working around the red-wax stamp, Takeru opened it to find a piece of parchment. ("Owls and parchment? Maybe I ate too much of Yamato's Meat Surprise last night.") Unfolded, the parchment was filled with Japanese writing, very clear and neat, as if it were typed, not written. Takeru read it aloud:

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, 1st Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Takaishi Takeru,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts has opened its gates to foreign students this year and hopes for your attendance.

A representative will come and explain all to you upon your response to this letter. We hope to receive your owl shortly.

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress"

"What?!" Takeru re-read it, scanning for signs of the words "Fooled you! Hehe!"

He took another look at the bird, and bolted out of his room. He had to speak to Yamato about this. Surely, if this was a joke, he'd know. If it was an evil digimon, he should be able to figure it out. Yamato would help him figure this out and then –

"_Ow_!"

The brothers had collided in the hallway. Funny, Takeru hadn't taken more than five steps, but it felt like he had ran for much longer than that.

In unison, the brothers held up their letters and said, "I got this weird letter! . . . You too? . . . Oh, good, I'm not going insane."

"Or at least we're not going alone," Yamato gave a half-smirk. He got up and held out his hand to Takeru.

"Heh, yeah." Takeru took his brother's hand and pulled himself up. "So. There's an owl in your room right now, too?"

"Yep. I just hope it doesn't leave any other surprises."

"Do you think this could be some evil digimon? Or someone was playing a trick on us?" Takeru breathed. He wasn't ready to expect the fact that he just got a letter inviting him to a school to teach him magic.

"How can it be an evil digimon? If it knew were we lived, wouldn't it make more sense to attack us in our sleep? Besides, none of our digimon have notified us of a threat in the Digital World. As for a joke . . . maybe, but it seems too extravagant for our friends, doesn't it? I mean, the trained owls, the old parchment . . . it's really not that funny and they can do much better."

"Yeah," Takeru sighed. He was glad for the second opinion. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"I say we write them back."

"What?!" His eyes sprang as wide as they would go. "Are you serious?!"

"Of course! Look, how else are we going to find out more about this? The letter doesn't give enough information for us to make a good judgment about this. And, c'mon, haven't you always wanted to do magic?"

"I thought being a Chosen Child was enough weird stuff for me."

"Hey, I wonder if any of our other friends got these."

And, as if in some play or fanfic, the phone rang.

Takeru pick up the phone with a hushed "If it's Jun, I'm not here!" from Yamato.

"Hello? Ishida residence."

"TK! YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST FOUND IN MY ROOM!! AN OLW! I'VE GOT AN OWL! I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET A PET OF MY OWN, BUT NOW I'VE GOT AN OWL!"

"Daisuke! Calm down!" Takeru shouted into the receiver that he held at arms lengths away. "Look at the owl again. Is there's a letter attached to it?"

"YEAH, THERE IS!" There was some rustling, hooting and then silence.

"'Hogwarts School of Witch . . .' TK, was this your idea of a joke?"

"No, I got one, too. So did Yamato." Takeru felt it safe to put the phone back up to his ear.

"Evil –?"

"Kill us in our sleep."

"Ah, true."

Yamato hit the speaker button and said, "We should contact the others, to see if they got one of these."

"So, this mean I don't get to keep the owl?"

"I don't think your parents would let you, anyway, Dai'."

"Awwwe. _Fine_. I'll contact 'Kari," the depressed voice of Daisuke ended in a click and the dial tone.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Takeru knew how important a pet was to him nowadays, though he had suspicions that Daisuke was just trying to cope with same boredom that Takeru felt in this live.

"Duh, this is Daisuke we're talking about here. I'll go call Jou, Izumi, Mimi, and Sora. Daisuke will talk to Taichi when he calls Hikari."

"Okay. I'll call Iroi and Miyako."

All of the Chosen Children, aside from Mimi who was in New York, decided to meet at the park to discuss the letters and owls. They met in a large tree's shade and the letters were past around. They also found out that in the envelopes there were a smaller envelope and a piece of parchment, clearly meant for their response. The owls, surprisingly, found their ways to the park and sat in the tree, "chatting" among them.

"So, how come Yamato, TK, Iroi, Ken, 'Kari, and Dai' got a letter and we didn't?" Taichi moaned.

"That should be obvious," Jou replied. "They're the only ones who have magic."

"Wha –! Are you saying you believe this, Jou?" Iori asked.

"Well, we already ruled out all of the other possible choices. This is the only one left that makes any kind of sense."

"But I don't get it!" 'Kari said. "We've never done magic in our lives . . . unless you count when we make our Digimon digi-evolve, but then _every_one should have gotten a letter, not just a few of us!"

"Yes, that is strange thought," Koushirou mused. "Other than what's Digimon related, has there been other weird occurrences in your guys' lives?"

"You mean, other than being a sibling to Tai?" Hikari asked.

"Hey!" Taichi said, but only got giggles from everyone else. He half-glared at everyone. "Oh, sure, take the cute one's side."

The Chosen Children who got the Hogwarts letters racked their brains in hopes of finding a memory where they did anything magical. Daisuke said that he once got an A on a math exam, and there was one time where Yamato had ran five miles to escape a horde of fan girls without messing up his hair. Iroi got past his Grandpa's defense a few times without knowing how, TK did a back flip off the high dive –

"This isn't helping!" Yolie sighed. "Those are unordinary, but there's nothing magical about them."

"Yolie is right," Koushirou said, concentrating hard. "I find it strange that some of us have developed magic all of a sudden. Even stranger that there's a school out there that teaches about magic."

"Do you believe in magic, Koushirou?" Ken inquired.

"It's not a matter of whether or not I personally believe in it," he stated.

". . . That didn't answer my question."

"Oh, c'mon, guys!" Daisuke threw up his hands. "Let's just get this over with and write the responses!"

"Dai'!" Hikari jumped. He had been sitting very close to her, as they were a couple now and he had nearly smacked her.

"Sorry, 'Kari, but I'm just so damn **bored** of all this talking! How else are we going to find out more about this? Send the representative already!"

"That's what I said!" Yamato grinned, making Daisuke grin. He still looked up to Yamato and Taichi as roll models and getting praise from them was one way to make his day.

"But what about our parents?" Iroi asked. "I think my mom should know about this."

"We'll send the responses and then tell them," Ken perked up. "They can meet the representative with us and then we all can decide whether or not this is a hoax."

"I think my mom will be mad if I do that."

"Yeah, and your mom won't let even let you check it out," Daisuke pointed out. "I know my parents won't. If this isn't a hoax, we have a chance to learn about something that we thought was fictional! I say a little yelling from our parents is worth the risk!"

This seemed to be everyone's thought, as those with letters pulled out their extra papers. The owls, seeing that they finally have decided on something, swooped down and landed by the kid they sent the letter to. It was clear that these were professionally trained birds and the same breed, as they were all large and of many different hews of brown dancing on their feathers.

Good, ol' reliable Jou had pens and string for everyone and in a short five minutes, their letters in more words or less said, "We wish to speak with the representative before we decide whether or not to go to Hogwarts. Thank you."

As soon as the last letter was tied to the last owl's leg, the bird flew off. The children watched them fly until they became little dots.

"I still want to know who trained those birds," Takeru mumbled.

**End of **_**Prolog: The Owls Fly**_


	2. Representing with a Handicap

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter One: Representing with a Handicap

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: Jude « JD » Dillingham

Rating: PG, will change

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: Don't and will never own Digimon or Harry Potter.

Author's Notes: Thank JD for helping me keep the facts straight and getting the spelling correct.

**Chapter One: Representing with a Handicap**

It was the Monday of the first week of summer vacation for Hogwarts students and the sun shone brightly down upon them, as if telling them to enjoy what little time there was before they went back to school. In the wizard home of the Weasleys, that's exactly what the boys and their only sister, Ginny, planned on doing. Around the kitchen table, which was actually the size of a formal dinning room table so they could all fit, the children were clamoring about what they had planned for their first week of the summer holidays, while Mrs. Weasley ran around the kitchen, preparing food and keeping them in check.

"Ron, don't shout - we're all right here! Percy, how many sausages do you want? Fred, for the last time, don't bring tricks to the table!"

"I'm not Fred! He is!" The boy pointed to the mirror image of himself, who sat right next to him at the large table in his usual seat.

"Don't pull that one on me. I know my boys –"

"Morning, boys." Mr. Weasley came into the kitchen, tucking his tie into a knot and looking just like a muggle. With one free hand, he rustled one of his boys' hair and said, "George, put that away before your mom takes it away."

"I told you I wasn't Fred, Mum! I'm George!" George took his bag of stink bombs and put it back in his room.

"You can call me George if you like, Mum," Fred smiled up in fake innocence, gaining a scowl from his mother. The one thing she dreaded about this summer vacation was the fact that her twin boys were home. She loved them as much as all of her children, but those two rivaled April Fool himself when it came to playing pranks.

"Well, how do I look?" Mr. Weasley asked his family, spinning around with his arms spread. He was dressed in a muggle business suit, one that he kept stowed safely away in the closet. It was gray with very dull, thin white stripes running vertically along his pants and coat. The shoes were black, matching the tie that stood out from the white shirt under his coat. He even had his red hair, which clashed with his gray outfit, gelled back in a muggle professional manner and was holding a black briefcase.

Ron, who had been concentrating on his toast after being snapped at by his mother, looked up and gaped. "WHO LET IN THE MUGGLE?"

"Ah-ha! Just the expression I was looking for!" Mr. Weasley beamed.

"Ron, how many time do I have to tell you not to shout?" Mrs. Weasley glared.

"I CAN'T HELP IT, MUM! FRED GAVE ME A SCREAMING SPROUT IN THE FORM OF A BERNIE BOTT'S EVERY FLAVORED JELLY BEAN!"

"FRED!"

"I thought you didn't want anyone shouting, Mum," Fred grinned. However, with one look from his mother, he put his napkin on the table and stood up. "Well, I guess I better see what's taking George so long. Lovely meal, Mum. See you in a few weeks!"

With Fred out of the kitchen as fast as he could manage, Mr. Weasley sat down at the head of the table. "So boys, tell me how your year at Hogwarts was?"

"IT WAS –"

Mrs. Weasley said, "Ron, don't talk until that Screaming Sprout wears off."

"BUT HOW CAN I TELL WHEN IT WEARS OFF IF I DON'T TALK?"

"We'll test it every half hour. For now, keep your mouth shut!" She said with a thump as she sat down for her breakfast. The spells were taking care of everything and she could finally enjoy her food.

So everyone but Ron got to tell their father about their year at Hogwarts. It was mostly repeating what was written in the letters they had sent home, but Mr. Weasley always pretended to have forgotten what they wrote so he could "bond" with his sons and daughter.

After about three pokes, she finally turned her head and saw that Ron wanted her attention. "Yes, Ron?"

He didn't say anything, just pointed. Ginny looked in the general direction but was confused. "What is it, Ron? What do you want?"

Ron pointed harder, jutting his finger out as if that would make her understand. Ginny looked again. "You want the sausages? You already have four on your plate."

Ron grunted and pointed again. Ginny looked even more baffled so Ron just gave up. Leaning over his plate, he reached for the butter.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. No matter where her attention seemed to be, she always shocked the boys by knowing exactly what was happening in the room. "Don't just grab for things like that. Ask for someone to pass it to you!"

The littlest boy gave her a desperate look and then glared at his sister, who was blushing and trying to melt into the chair. How was she supposed to know he wanted the butter? It _was_ right next to the sausages and the salt and pepper.

"Why are you dressed like a muggle this morning, Father?" Percy asked at the proper time. He already knew the answer, but it was agreed to put on a show for the others.

"Well, my son," Mr. Weasley sat straight up. "I am going on important Ministry assignment. I am going to Muggle Japan."

"Japan?" Mrs. Weasley shot him an expression of shock. She knew of this as well, but went along with the little act for the sake of her children. "Why would they send you to Japan?"

"I am –" Mr. Weasley puffed out his chest – "going to represent Hogwarts to a group of students there to see if they would like to attend the fine school."

"Really?" Ginny perked up. "That's cool! We'll get to find out how they teach magic in Japan!"

"Actually, no," Mr. Weasley corrected gently. "They've never been to a Japanese magic school in their lives."

"What? But, you said they were students," Ginny looked as though she was trying to find the butter again.

"Well, yes, I did," he fumbled for the right words. "Technically, they were supposed to be at school for a year at least now. However, Japan has this very strict age limit on their schools. You have to turn ten before the start of school in April –"

"They start in April?" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

"Yes, dear, just like the Muggle School in Japan. I guess they prefer it that way. Anyway, you have to be ten before April, and if you don't receive and accept your letter when you're ten, then you can't go to school."

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Percy spoke up. He only knew that they were going to Japan, not about Japan itself. "How can they deny someone the chance at a magical education just because of their age?"

"Our European schools agree with you. They set up TOFS – Teaching of Foreign Students – so those that got left behind by their local education system can come here and learn magic."

"WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE TOFS AT HOGWARTS!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Ah, that's because the other schools have had no problem taking in the foreign students and teaching them. However, as of late, the population has been nearly spilt in half – half English students, half Japanese students. Since the Japanese students have a few other classes that only they take, things like Japanese Magical History, this has caused the students to . . . drift. The Japanese students only socialize with other Japanese students and the English, with the English. It has caused some tensions and the schools would like to deal with that before taking in any more students from Japan. They've asked Hogwarts to take on the next few years of students from Japan until they get their students to mingle with each other."

"Makes sense," Percy nodded his head. "But, why did they pick you, Dad, to represent Hogwarts? Surely there's someone in the Ministry who knows more about Japan than you?"

"Dumbledore recommended me personally," Mr. Weasley beamed. "Seems my love of the Muggle World and having all of my children attending – or already attended – Hogwarts has finally paid off!"

"Yeah, we're just here for you to climb the working ladder," Ginny grinned. That usually wasn't her brand of humor, but the twins had infected her this morning.

Mr. Weasley coughed and grinned. "Well, I guess I should be going now."

Percy nearly choked on his orange juice. "B-but, Father, don't you think it would be wise to take along one of your children to help represent Hogwarts? It's been a long time since you've been there and maybe the students will relate more to another student?"

Mr. Weasley slapped the back of his son's chair. "What a great idea, Percy! Why don't you come with me?"

"I'd be honored," Percy downed his juice and got up. Before walking out, he called over his shoulder, "Just give me a few minutes to change into some muggle clothing."

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Mrs. Weasley glared at him. "Don't even dare, Ron. You're in no condition to be representing Hogwarts, screaming like a banshee." Her gaze softened as she looked at her only daughter. "I'm sorry, Ginny, but you can't go either."

"It's okay, I guess," Ginny looked down. "What about Fred or George?"

"It might do good to bring one of them along," Mr. Weasley mused. "Separate the gruesome twosome, even for a day."

"No, Arthur. Those boys don't get any special treatment just because they like to run amuck. They need to learn some self control and taking them to a foreign country will not do that!"

"I guess you're right, dear," he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. At that moment, Percy walked into the room wearing his muggle clothes: a white tee-shirt, deep blue jeans so well taken care of and fitting that they could almost pass for slacks, and black shoes much like his father's. "Ah, good, Percy. Let's get going then, shall we?"

The two left the room and soon the three remaining Weasleys heard the front door open and close.

"He got into his muggle clothing too fast, if you ask me," Ginny mumbled to Ron. "I think they had this planned . . ."

"Amazing. Simply amazing!" Mr. Weasley said, staring at a teenager with an iPod. They were in Odaiba, Japan and hadn't taken five steps before Percy's father stopped to gawk at some muggle toy. Percy had hoped that the rain would keep nearly everyone indoors, but he didn't know that for a few months every year during this time it would rain almost non-stop – from light drizzles to heavy downpours. It was something the Japanese coped with and they couldn't let it affect their daily lives.

"_Father_!" Percy grabbed his arm. He nearly lost his umbrella in the wind and rain, but somehow managed to stay dry. He called over his shoulder to the bemused Japanese teenager, "Gomen nasi."

As Percy pulled Mr. Weasley away, he regained a little bit of composure. "Percy, I didn't know you spoke Japanese."

"I don't," Percy sighed. "I picked up this little handbook on common Japanese phrases at the train station, just in case you tried to mingle with the muggles."

"Oh. Well, what did you say to him? Whatever it was, it sounds like you've practiced it a lot."

"I said, 'I'm very sorry.'"

Mr. Weasley really didn't have a reply to that, so he just took out the directions again. Since Mr. Weasley couldn't read the Japanese street signs, he had very detailed directions to the apartment where he was to meet the children. It mostly consisted of "walk three blocks until you get to this landmark. Turn left and walk this amount of blocks."

Percy held his head high and tried not to notice how many people were staring at his red head peaking underneath his umbrella. Most of the people here had black, straight hair. Only a few Japanese people had brown or blonde hair and it was clear that they had dyed it. Once or twice, he saw a kid with really strange hair, like he had just jumped out of a muggle comic book. Other than that, the only hair difference he saw was in the foreigners and tourist, like himself, who weren't seen very much in the residential areas of this city. What was there for them?

"Okay, five blocks this way," Mr. Weasley turned. "Are you hungry, Son? I didn't have much breakfast. Maybe we can go for an early lunch."

"Dad, it's already past seven!" Percy griped.

"It is? Oh, I guess it is! I forgot about the time change! Eleven hours, wasn't it? Oh, Percy, look at what that man has there! A portable telephone!"

"I'm so glad they can't understand us," Percy said under his breath.

"Ah, for that we'll need a Speech Potion," Fred said.

"We can do that right now, if you like," George finished.

"No, you're underage wizards and can't use magic outside of Hogwarts. Father will do it when we get to the apartment. Ministry's orders."

"Ah, that's a shame."

"Yeah, I'm sure he'd love to talk to the locals."

"Of course, that'll make it harder to actually get to the apartment."

"You're right, Fred. Could take all day."

"Or night, what with the time change."

"WAIT!" Percy whipped around and saw his two younger brothers standing behind him with umbrellas of their own, grinning with the same grins on their identical faces. "What are you DOING here?!"

"How could we pass up a chance to go to Japan?" George grinned.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice us earlier."

"You're NOT supposed to be here!"

"Why's that, Mr. Percy? Needed some one-on-one time with Daddy?"

"NO! The Ministry didn't want any more than two of us coming because we might attract unnecessary attention!"

"Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, the muggles will just think we're tourist."

"In a way –"

"– we are."

"It's not the muggles they're worried about," Percy hissed. "Look, you two are to go back to the station and take the next International Floo Powder home!"

"What?! No way!"

"We paid good money to use it –"

"– and we're not going to spend more money to just be sent home!"

Mr. Weasley turned around to see what the commotion was about. (At this point the freaked out muggle ran off. Mr. Weasley can be a bit overbearing if he gets really excited). Upon seeing the twins, he went white. "Oh, no . . . does – does your mother know you're here?"

"We took care of it," Fred and George said at the same time.

"Fred, George, where are you two? You'd better not be causing more mischief!" Mrs. Weasley opened the door to the twins' bedroom.

They were nowhere in the house and it had been about half an hour since they had both disappeared from breakfast. They should have been spotted again, planning something that'll give their mother another headache.

Their bedroom was littered with harmless pranks (like they would leave the good stuff out for their mother to find), and their wizardry clothes. Mrs. Weasley mumbled about their lack of cleanliness when she noticed a note on Fred's bed.

_Dear Mum,_

_Gone to Japan with Dad and Percy._

_See you when we get back.  
_

_George and Fred_

Down in the garden, Ginny and Ron were spread out on the grass, relaxing in the morning sun before they had to do their chores. They heard a high-pitched scream from the house.

"Either the ghost in the attic is really acting up or Mom's going to go on a killing spree," Ginny said. "Shall we make ourselves scarce, Ron?"

Ron just nodded and the two headed out to the field that was just beyond their property lines.

It was twenty minutes later before they found the apartment complex they were searching for. They clamored into a small elevator as the directions instructed, then Mr. Weasley pulled out two medium-sized bottles containing a murky green liquid from his briefcase.

"Dad, that's enough Speech Potion for six men!" Percy said, alarmed.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure. Professor Snape made enough for twelve, anyway. He couldn't get the potion any smaller."

"Professor Snape made that!?" Fred pointed.

"I'm not drinking it!" George protested.

"It could kill us!"

"He's never been fond of our family, especially now that Ron's Harry's friend."

"And everyone at school knows how much Snape hates Harry."

"You two will drink without question because you'll realize that Professor Snape would not be so foolish as to kill us with something that can easily be traced back to him," Percy shoved one of the bottles into Fred's hands. "Don't forget to shake it well, it only takes a gulp or two swallows."

Fred gave it a weary look but shook it and took a gulp. "Oh, gross! It tastes like Professor Snape wrung out his greasy hair over the potion! Here, George."

George plugged his nose and downed his portion of the potion, nearly gagging it back up. "Nasty," was all he choked out before passing it along to his father.

Mr. Weasley and Percy took the drink with less of a dramatic production, though Mr. Weasley did comment that it tasted as though Fred wasn't too far from the truth. Lucky for them, no one else had need of the elevator, so the potion went unseen aside from the four Weasleys.

"Dad," Percy whispered to his father. "Are you sure we couldn't find some place for Fred and George to play while we represented Hogwarts?"

"Oh, don't worry, Percy. Your brothers aren't that bad!" Mr. Weasley chuckled.

"Yeah, Perc', we can behave like gentlemen!" Fred adopted a snobbish tone. "Cup o' tea! Cup o' tea! What a lovely day! Wouldn't you agree, Old Chap?"

"Indeed, I would!" George mimicked him. "Shall we talk about the most boring subject we can think of?"

"Capital idea! I do believe Percy's love life is ranked between 'bored to tears' and 'extremely boring.'"

"Daaaad!" Percy moaned. "Having these two along is like playing Quidditch with a cursed broom!"

"Hey, we play Quidditch!" Fred and George dropped their snobbish acts.

"That's not the point," Percy growled, but their level arrived (thankfully they were numbered in English) and the four got out. Under his breath he mumbled, "With you two along, we're representing Hogwarts with a handicap."

Mr. Weasley pointed to the doors, counting, "One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . six . . . seven! Here we are, Boys!"

"Wait, how do we know if the Speech Potion worked?" Fred asked.

"Only one way to find out." Mr. Weasley knocked on the door.

A lady with soft black hair and matching eyes came to the door. She was short compared to the Weasleys, whose secondary trait was being tall. Her eyes seemed a little scared, as if not knowing what to expect, but she bowed a little.

"Ah – hello." Mr. Weasley bowed a little, unsure of himself. "Is – is this the Ichijouji residence?"

"Yes, it is. I'm Mrs. Ichijouji."

"Ah, good. I'm Mr. Arthur Weasley, and these are my boys, Percy, Fred, and George. We're the representatives from Hogwarts."

"Please, come in." She stepped aside but halted Mr. Weasley after he took only three steps. "Please remove your shoes, Mr. Weasley."

"Oh, yes, of course!" Mr. Weasley and his boys took off their shoes. Mrs. Ichijouji would have offered the spare slippers they wear to walk around the house, but they only had one pair and it looked like it wouldn't fit any of them.

Instead, she didn't say anything but led them to the crowded living room. All six children had come over since this was where the second flock of letters from McGonagall said to meet. However, the children's parents were in the living room as well. Adding the four that had just walked in, there were twenty people in total. Most were standing, the children sitting on the floor. Hikari and Daisuke's parents moved off the couch so the Weasleys could sit.

"Thank you," Mr. Weasley said, glad that the Speech Potion was working just fine.

"Would you and your boys care for something to drink, Mr. Weasley?" Mrs. Ichijouji said from the short entryway. She didn't want to have to push her way through the crowd more than necessary.

"Oh, some water, please."

George and Fred looked around. Most of these people had black or brown hair. Only three people, two boys who were clearly brothers and their mother, had blonde hair. They were all looking at them, unsure as much as they were about how to start the conversation.

"So," Percy tried to break the ice. "Um, how about we each introduce ourselves so we know everyone's name?"

A round of introductions was made. The Weasleys forgot most of the last names, as they didn't think they could pronounce them without taking an actual class in Japanese. The Speech Potion was made so people could speak and understand a foreign language for a certain amount of time; however it had its limits, such as names. There are so many ways to say a single name that it was too complicated to figure out a potion for it, so the long-forgotten creator of the Speech Potion left the names alone. By the time it was done, Mrs. Ichijouji had returned with the waters. The air in the room was less tense by a notch, but still thick with unformed questions and anxiety.

Mr. Weasley placed his glass down on the coaster. He had been planning a little speech for a few weeks now, ever since he found out about this. "I am Arthur Weasley; I'm head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Ministry of Magic. These are my boys who are attending Hogwarts. Percy will be starting his seventh year in September. Fred and George will be starting their fifth year. What do you know about Hogwarts?"

"Only that they think we have magic and want to teach us," Hikari piped up. "Did you say you start school in September?"

"Yes, that's when you start school in Europe," Mr. Weasley answered.

"Ah, you mean we have to go in the beginning of winter?" Daisuke moaned.

"Well, actually we were hoping that you would come . . . um, tomorrow."

Like an echo magnified and mingled with disbelief, nearly every parent in the room said, "Tomorrow?!"

"You can't be serious!"

"You expect our children to be ready to go half way across the world by tomorrow!?"

"That's not even enough time to think about it!"

"Why do you need to take our children so fast, anyway?"

"Please, please, settle down!" Mr. Weasley waved his hands pleadingly. "There's a very good reason as to why your children need to come to Europe as soon as possible. The reason is that Ken, Die-suke-kay, Hikadli, and Takedlu skipped a year of Hogwarts. Yamato has missed four years of Hogwarts –"

"Then why even bother?" Yamato asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Why even bother with me if I've already missed four years of Hogwarts? How many years do you go to Hogwarts, anyway?"

"Oh, um, seven. Bu-but don't worry! We want to actually hold you back a year, because there's no way that you could learn four years worth of material in a summer."

"Are you saying I might have a chance at three years?"

"Well, if you work hard enough. And you'll have tutoring throughout the year at Hogwarts to help you keep up with your studies and fill any gaps in your education."

"But three years worth in about two months?" Mr. Ishida sighed. "Even I couldn't do that."

"Oh, it won't be as bad you think," Percy spoke up. "We're planning to teach them basics in Potions, Spells, highlights in Magical History, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures. It does sound like a lot, but they'll be taught by the best professors and, as I said earlier, it'll just be the basics so they won't have to start off in a lower grade level than they should – aside from Yamato. And, truthfully, there's some fifteen year olds in their Fourth Year of Hogwarts, it just depends on when their birthdays are."

"Yeah, and if anyone gives you guff about it, we'll take care of them," Fred spoke up for the first time since the conversation started.

"It's not like they'll really care. I think they'll be too interested in the fact that you guys are foreign."

"Why are we going to a foreign school?" Ken spoke up. "Aren't there Japanese magic schools?"

"Yes, there are," Mr. Weasley sighed. "Unfortunately, they have a very strict age policy. You have to be ten years old and receive your letter on time for them to accept you.

"Unlike Japanese muggle schools, where you need to pass an entrance exam, magic schools have implemented an Age Limit as a substitute. I won't pretend it's fair or makes sense to me, but this is why the European Magic Schools have been offering an education to Japanese students who don't meet the Age Limit. You kids will be the first six foreign children to attend Hogwarts. Previously, all the other schools were able to handle the students, but now they're getting a bit crowded and have asked Dumbledore to share our school, which he was more than willing to."

"Wait! I'm ten. How come I didn't get an invitation to go to a Japanese magic school?" Iori blurted out. He could hardly believe that they were having this conversation about magic as if it were commonplace. Just yesterday they were thinking this was a hoax, but that thought kind of left their minds when the owls returned with replies.

"For whatever reason, you didn't receive your letter in January and the Japanese schools won't accept you now." Mr. Weasley shrugged.

Iori bit his lower lip, afraid that he'd let it slip that he was a Chosen Child. He was still in the Digital World in January, so the letter most likely came on a day he wasn't in this world. The six had already decided that they were not going to bring it up unless the representatives said something about the Digital World. If they didn't know about it, there was no harm in not telling them. This would also finally put to rest their suspicions of this being the plot of an evil, twisted Digimon.

However, Takeru spoke up, "How come you guys didn't come years earlier? If my brother does have magic, then wouldn't it make sense to have invited him to Hogwarts when he was ten, not now at the age of fifteen?"

"I can't answer that, unfortunately," Mr. Weasley sighed. "The best I can offer is that the European magic schools have always been prideful at how well their foreign students do. Perhaps they haven't contacted Yamato because they thought he wasn't 'magically strong enough.' It would have happened over a dozen times in the past if the Ministry hadn't caught wind. I'm sorry, Yamato, but we seemed to have overlooked you. We try not to do those kinds of things."

Mr. Weasley coughed and continued with his little speech, "At Hogwarts, your children will be among the finest professors, with the best Headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen, Albus Dumbledore. They will stay in dorms with other children in their year, be sorted into Houses and become like a family there."

"I hope you guys get into Gryffindor!" George piped up.

"Yeah, they're the best!" Fred added.

"All of our family has been in Gryffindor."

"We think they plan for our beds even before we get to Hogwarts."

"Just hope you don't get into Slytherin. Those guys are nasty."

"Evil blokes you don't want to mess with."

"_A-hem_," Percy silenced his brothers. "Are there any other questions we can answer?"

"Yeah, I have one," Daisuke raised his hand as if he were in class but didn't wait to be called upon. "Why are we even going to a magic school? As cool as it sounds, we have never done magic in our lives."

"You can't be serious!" Mr. Weasley was taken back. "Well, maybe you just don't know how to recognize magic. Have you ever done anything in your life that you couldn't explain? Anything unusual?"

"Well, I got an A on a math test."

"Dai', that's not magical," Hikari sighed.

"But it's unusual and I can't explain it."

"Sorry, but Hikadli is correct. Don't worry, I'm sure you have magic; you just don't know it. All magic schools have a foolproof way of sniffing out wizards and witches from muggles."

"Sorry – muggles?" Ken asked.

"Non-magical people," Percy replied.

"So, the only thing left to decide is –"

"How much is this going to cost?" Daisuke's father asked.

"Nothing at all!" Mr. Weasley beamed. "The Ministry has given Hogwarts a special grant to use just for your children! All of their school supplies, robes, and everything will be paid for by the school. All you have to do is decide whether or not you wish to send your children to Hogwarts."

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Percy leaned forward. He had been cooking up a little speech as well. "Your children have the chance to learn something most people in this world view as 'fictional.' They have the chance to experience a whole other world –"

"Quidditch!"

"Diagon Alley!"

"Hogsmeade!"

" – And it would seem unjust to deny them of that," Percy finished by talking over his brothers.

There was a bit of silence, and then Mr. Ishida spoke up. "Well, Yamato, TK, what do you think?"

"I want to go," Takeru said right away, not noticing that his mother had winced just the slightest.

"Yeah, sounds like fun." Yamato grinned.

"I would like to go, too." Cody spoke up, but quickly turned around to face his mother and grandfather. "If that's all right with you."

"Of course it is, Honey. You follow your heart wherever it takes you," his mother hugged him while his grandfather patted his shoulder.

"I don't know –" Daisuke started.

"I'm going!" Hikari interrupted.

"– why we waited this long to decide! Let's go!"

Ken looked at his parents. They both had tears in their eyes. He had put them through so much . . . running away to be an evil emperor, having amnesia when he returned . . . and now this. He wanted to go with this friends but he didn't want to hurt his parents any more.

"Ken, Honey, if you want to go, we understand," his mother spoke up.

"Yes, we can't deny you your future," his father said. "We tried to push you in a direction once before and we hurt you more than we helped. Only you know what's best for you."

"Don't hear a parent say that everyday," Fred whispered to George, who nodded.

Ken didn't say anything, just grinned brightly at his mom and dad, grateful to have such loving parents.

"You're going to call to us every chance you get, though!"

"Err, he can't 'call' you," Mr. Weasley spoke up. "There's no electricity in the Magical World. He can write, though."

"Okay, write to us as often as possible!"

That seemed to be the end of the conversation and everyone wanted to get out of the stuffy, crowded room. They were all covered with a thin coat of sweat when they emerged from the apartment. Only the Ichijoujis stayed, as it was their apartment.

"So we'll meet back here at eight in the morning," Mr. Weasley stated before they had left the room. "Your children don't need to pack anything, really. Maybe a few extra sets of clothes they like and a few non-electrical things. Everything else will be provided for them at Hogwarts."

Outside in the warm, June night air, Takeru took out his digivice. The rain was taking a break, thankfully, and the night was clear. It had been two hours since they had started the conversation and even at ten at night, the city was still busy, as it would remain until the early morning hours when it dwindled to the slowest point of traffic.

"Mr. Weasley?" Takeru asked. "Is there no electricity in the Magical World because it's not permitted or is there another reason?"

"There's no electronics because they don't work properly with all the magic around. Things can be enchanted to work, but it's against –"

"Could you enchant this?" Takeru held it up before Mr. Weasley could say anything that would quash his hopes. "Please, this is very important to me. If it doesn't work in the Magical World, I'll feel so . . . I've carried it with me for years and . . . it's comforting."

Whether it was the sweet words of Takeru, his pleading look, or the fact that Mr. Weasley had little self-control when it came to toying with Muggle things, Mr. Weasley looked about. Percy hadn't overheard the conversation, but he was just like his mother when it came to . . . bending the rules.

"Fred, George," Mr. Weasley waved them up. Whispering to them he said, "Keep Percy busy until I signal you and I'll see if I can't reduce your sentences when we get home."

"Deal!" the two said at once and ran up to Percy, dodging the other children and adults.

"Hey, Perc'!" Fred ruffled his hair.

"Don't do that!"

"Do what?" George asked. "This?" He ruffled his brother's hair.

"Yes!"

"Yes, do it? Okay." Fred ruffled it again.

"STOP!" Percy snapped. "Why don't you go give the children a preview of what Hogwarts is like with you two?"

"We thought we'd use you as the demonstration."

"Yeah, it's all in good fun!"

"So, tell us, Perc', did we meet your approval in the meeting?"

"We hardly talked at all."

Percy snorted. "When you did, it was out of terms and blabbering. I'm surprised the children agreed to go."

"Not everyone is as uptight as you, Perc'," said Fred.

"Yeah, leave the world to you and we'd be filling out forms just to fill out forms!" said George.

"I think they already wanted to go, even though they weren't sure about it."

"Yeah, did you see how quickly they agreed after they found out all the details?"

"The Japanese are just like that. They're quick and efficient."

Both the twins burst out laughing. At the same time they rubbed Percy's hair and said, "Yeah, right! Sure thing, Perc'!"

"AURGH! STOP RUBBING MY HAIR AND DON'T CALL ME PERC'!!"

The twins bolted for the stairs right by the elevator, an enraged Percy right on their tail. This would keep him busy for a while, long enough for their dad to do whatever he wanted to do, which he had already started. As soon as Percy was absorbed in the conversation, Mr. Weasley took Takeru's little device and performed a few spells on it with his wand.

"Thank you very much." Takeru bowed.

"Hey, can you do mine, too, please?" Daisuke held his out.

Mr. Weasley dotted his eyes back to Percy, who was getting his hair rubbed. "Lemme guess, you all have these little toys?"

Daisuke nodded and Iori, Hikari, and Yamato took their digivices. The children's parents were waiting patiently, knowing what those were and what they really meant. All of them had a small glow of pride on their faces. They had such gifted children and they always made the right choices. If only they could brag about how their children were Chosen Children and now will become wizards and witches. They had gotten the feeling that the Magical World liked to remain hidden from the masses – and who would believe them?

There was a twinkle in Mr. Weasley's eyes. He did all of theirs, including Ken's when Daisuke ran back to the apartment and got him. He kept asking questions between spells, but the best he could get out of them was that their devices were able to maintain contact between them and had aided them many times.

"How will we know if they work?" Hikari asked, putting hers back into her pocket.

"You won't until tomorrow when we go to the Magical World. But you have to keep them hidden and let no one know they work," his voice became low and warning. "I'm taking a big risk enchanting them – and handing them over to underage wizards and witches to boot."

"We'll be careful. Thank you again," the children said at once, which kind of took Mr. Weasley off guard. He was used to the twins switching between sentences, even fishing them for each other, but these were six kids with no blood or birth bond.

"Ah, yes, well, see you tomorrow then. Get a good night's rest. You'll need it."

With that he went down the stairs to call off George and Fred. What a beautiful night this had turned out to be! And to think, just on the other side of the planet, it was only eleven in the morning.

End of Chapter One: _Representing With a Handicap_


	3. Speech Potion on the Train

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Two: Speech Potion on theTrain

Author: Dragon Starbo

E-mail: Mayhem (a.k.a. Demi-Goddess)

E-mail: PG, will change

Genre: Parody/Adventure 

Disclaimer: Don't and will never own Digimon or Harry Potter.

Author's Notes: I'd like to make a correction from Chapter One: Representing with a Handicap. Just a few nights ago, my step-father was talking about one of his co-workers going to Japan a lot (they work in an inter-national company). In Japan, it turns out, they don't have street signs. They have billboards on each corner, saying things like "resadental street" or "shopping" with an arrow pointing in the right dicretion. I don't know how anyone gets around in parts of the towns they're not farmiliar with, but apperantly this system works for them (why else would they keep it?). Anyhow, the correction I needed to make was that I mentioned there were street signs in Japan. I just assumed these were universal without thinking about it. I guess what they Japanese have is a type of street sign, but I believe the way I worded it was misleading.

**Chapter Two: _Speech Potion on the Train_**

"Can you believe this?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just so amazing. I never dreamed something like this would ever happen to me in my life."

"Same here. But then again, the world's full of surprises, eh?"

"Yeah, but still . . ."

"What are you two whispering about?"

"We just find it simply amazing that we have to drink this wretched stuff again!"

Fred and George were standing in the living room of the hotel that the Weasleys stayed at over night. It was crowded and the twins had to sleep on the couches, but the biggest disappointment came in the morning, when they were to find out that they had to drink the Speech Potion. Again.

"It's not the best way to start the morning, but we have to do it," Mr. Weasley sighed. "How else are we going to communicate with the new Howgart's students? Not to mention the desk clerk will think it odd if we can't understand him when we did last night."

"Why can't we make them drink it?" Fred moaned.

"And just how will you convay to them that you want them to drink some of the most poinous looking goop they've ever seen?" Precy asked as he came out of the bathroom. Hotel rooms, no matter where, were never built for blocking out noise. He heard everything aside from the whisperings in the beginning of this chapter.

"Well, they stomached you," Fred mumbled, but got a look from his father, so didn't voice it louder. If their dad wasn't good at disapline, there was one thing Author was good at. Warning his boys when trouble was just around the corner.

Precy said nothing but glared at his brothers.

After some debating and a few more jokes from the twins, they decided it was best to drink the poison – I mean, potion before they had breakfast, so they can delute the nasty taste of it. This was a mistake, as it made their breakfast so revolting that no one finished it.

"Oh, let's just arrive there early," Precy sighed and put down his chop sticks, which didn't seem to want to work with him. The boys last night had decided sense they were in Japan, they should have Japanese meals. With the travel-expense money they got from the Ministry, they raided a local conviance store and had udon noodles and sushi for dinner. For breakfast, it was rice and left over sushi. "It's better than being here."

"I guess we should," Author Weasley put down his chop sticks, which he had gotten the hang of last night. He looked at his twins, who weren't even bothering any more with chopsticks and using forks that were in the hotel room already. "Maybe if we get back early we can get on the good side of your mother."

With that statement, Fred and George quickly got up and cleaned up the breakfast. Last night, before they forced themselves to sleep, the two had talked over at how badly screwed they will be when they got back home. The thought of moving here and going to a Japanese school had crossed their minds, but they couldn't bear to leave Howgarts.

Over at Ken's appartment, Ken was standing outside with his parents and had a backpack over one shoulder. When he saw the Weasleys get off the elevator, he smiled and waved, then turned back to his parents for a final farewell hug. Ken was dressed in his usual grey outfit, hoping the farmilar fabrics would make him less nervous.

Like yesterday, it was raining, however it wasn't as hard, just a light drizzle that you couldn't even be sure was there unless you stuck your hand out. Ken informed them that it would be pooring by mid-afternoon. It was a bit crowded in the elevator with all five and a few other girls who were going to the mall. This also meant they didn't talk much because the girls were making their own storm in high pitched voices. Fred and George amussed themselves by making faces behind the girls' backs. The two minute ride seemed to take much longer than that to Ken, but it was finally over and everyone exited on the bottom floor.

"Hey, Ken, where does everyone else live?" Precy asked.

"Oh, they're at Miyako's family store," Ken answered. "We decided it would be easier for you if we all just met in one place. I was going to head there right before when you came."

"Great idea!" Author piped up. "Miyako is a friend of yours, I take it."

"Yes," and Ken lead them to the store, wanting so badly to ask them about the Magical World. However, with a stern look from Mr. Weasley and a few hushed words, the message was convayed that you don't speak about the Magical World out in the open as if it were common-placed. Ken could respect that, sense he did the same thing when it came to the Digital World.

At the store, Miyako and the others were waiting. Yamato, Takeru, Daisuke, Iroi and Hikari all had their own backpacks and another bag that seemed full to bursting in their hands.

"Hey, Ken!" Miyako smiled brightly when he stepped into the store. She abbonded her station at the cash regaster – thankfully there were no customers in the store – and swung around the counter. Before Ken could even think of mumbling a greeting, Miyako shoved a bag with his name on it into his hands. "This is from everyone to you! We all got you, Dai', TK, 'Kari, Iroi, and Yamato a few things we thought you might miss in England. Don't open it right now, though! Are you going to go right now or can you stick around for a little bit?"

"Um, well . . ." Ken looked back at Mr. Weasley, the only one out of the four red heads who was paying attention. The boys were talking it up with the other children as if they had been buddies forever.

"Actually, it would be best if we got going as soon as possible. I know we're early, but we have a bussy day planned."

"Oh, right, of course," Miyako looked a bit sad. "Well, um, I guess you guys should get going now."

"Don't worry, Miyako," Ken smiled reassuringly. "We'll be back for Chirstmas and Summer Vacation. And we'll write to you as often as possible."

She gave a weak smile and hugged Ken. Everyone said their goodbyes to Miyako and filed out of the store. Hikari, however, hung back and when everyone was outside, she asked, "Miyako, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, of course it is!" she grinned brightly. "I'm happy for you guys! This is really exciting, even just to know about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah . . . Look, just go before I get too mushy!" Miyako shoved Hikari towards the doors.

Hikari laughed at her friend as she stepped out into the outside world. Yeah, Miyako was upset right now, but she'll get over it and be busy with school, boys, the store, etc. The others were just a few yards down the road, apperantly it took them a few minutes to realize that Hikari wasn't around. Her friends didn't say anything, figuring everything was all right by her smile. The Weasleys didn't bother commenting on it, just started off again.

"Are you sure?" Miyako's older sister had just come out of the backroom.

Miyako didn't say anything, just slammed her fist on the counter, making the cash register open up. Her older sister was right beside her in an instance, hold her shoulders in a make-shift hug.

"It's not fair!" Miyako tried to sound more angry than sad.

"Yes! I know! I'll try to devolpe my magical tallents so I can join you guys next year! That's right, Miyako will not be left behind! I'll consintrate so hard I'll lift this whole block!"

Mr. Weasley took out his dicrections again and with a decrease tap of his wand, he whispered a spell and soon the paper told him how to get back to the Magical World from where he was standing. Nothing interesting happened, so after a half an hour or so of walking, they finally arrived at what looked like a normal alley way. There was some trashcans and a dumpster, everything in shadows and dim lights.

Mr. Weasley rubbed his hands together. "All right, we'll go two by two. Get a good run going, it'll help. Fred, George, you two first to show them how it's done."

Fred and George grinned and ran at top speed into the wall at the end of the alley way. Hikari let out a small "eep" and the boys gasped, but instead of hearing the inventable cringing-smash, they heard . . . nothing. The boys had disappeared right through the wall. Now, had they been able to see the other side, they would have seen Fred and George tumble out a summersalt and stand up as if they were gymastics . . . grinning like fools, of course.

"Right, you two are next," Mr. Weasley motioned to Ken and Daisuke.

Ken and Daisuke looked each other in the eye and unspoken challenge flared between them: who could be the first to make it through? They ran head long into the wall as if they were going for the winning goal. Ken made it through just fine, skidded to a hault and whipped around to tease Daisuke about it. Daisuke wasn't there. In fact, he didn't show up until a few minutes later . . . rubbing his forehead and mumbling about missing the opening. The twins and Ken brusted up laughing and ignored the death glares from the other boy.

"It's amazing," Takeru teased as he and Yamato walked up to the others.

"It's just the train station," Fred grinned.

"Yeah, if you're so amazed, wait until you see the train itself," George added.

"No, not that," Yamato smirked. "It's amazing that Daisuke doesn't have a flat face after a hit like that."

Hikari and Iroi were next and right away, Hikari went up to Daisuke to make sure he was all right. Daisuke seemed more embarrassed at the fact that his girlfriend was fussing over him like a mother, so the other boys had to poke more fun at him. When Mr. Weasley and Precy came through, they all headed off down the platform. The Chosen Children became silent with awe at the station.

The doors, or wherever there was a wall that people went through like they did, had Buddhist temple-looking entery ways (two wooden polls on each side and a flat board across the top, contecting them). There was writing on the board across the top in Japanese and English to let people know where the door or wall went to. The walls were red brick and the floor was wooden, aside for two feet of steal around the sunken tracks for the train. Wooden benches were all along the walls and signs from the ceiling told you which platform you stood on. People walking around were all dressed differently, like snowflakes. Some were dressed like the typical European witch or wizard, some looked like they were regular muggles from all around the world, and the rest either looked like they were from another country, another time period or were wearing something that the children couldn't figure out.

Up at the ticket booth, which was window in the wall with a spotless glass, there was two holes, a round one in the middle for communication and the other was a rectangle for money and tickets to be transferred. The English man sitting on the stool behind the was sout and the face of a bulldog, wrinkled, sagged and mean-looking even with a nutural expression. His bald head was hidden by the uniform's cap, but his body – um, musscles? Or was that fat? – looked like they were ready rip the seems off of the old, tatter outfit.

"Can I help you?" the man said in a gruff voice.

"Yes, please," Mr. Weasley said, fishing out his bag of wizardy money. It was really fortunate that the trainstations took all forms of wizards' money; going to get the money converted was one less thing to do. "We need ten tickets for the next train to Howgarts, Scottland."

"Is that a town or building?" the man asked like a mechine.

"A building," Precy growled. "You know, Howgarts. One of the finest wizarding school in the world?"

Stupid punk, the man thought darkly. I should give him a piece of my mind . . . Calm down. Just remember: three more days until retirement . . . Just three more.

"Yes, Sir, of course," the man gave a false grin and expected their money. He plopped it into a hole in the counter top infront of him, proclaimed that they needed ten tickets, and vola! Ten tickets and change were coughed out one after the other by the hole, which bletched happily. "Pig . . . Here you are, Sir. Enjoy your trip."

"Thank you. Come along, everyone, we have ten minutes to catch the train!" Mr. Weasley shuffled everyone to the platform, realizing that the Japanese kids were stunned and awed at the Ticket Hole. He'd love to explain it to them, but these tickets weren't refundable.

"Mr. Weasdey," Takeru started when they were at the third platform away from the ticket booth.

"Please, call me Author," he smiled.

"Right, Authol. Back at the ticket booth, with that man . . . He could understand you and we could understand you. But we couldn't understand him. Why didn't he just speak Japanese instead of English, like you do?"

"Oh, I'm not speaking Japanese!" said Authol – I mean, Author. Sorry, the accident got to me. "I've never taken a Japanese langauge class in my life!"

"Then . . . how–?"

"It's called a Speech Potion. It allows anyone who drinks it to understand and be understood by people who speak another langauge. In my ears, I hear myself and everyone speaking English, but to you, I'm speaking Japanese. If the man in the ticket booth only knew German, then he would think I'm speaking German."

"So that's how come you seemed to fluent in Japanese," Yamato mused. "I thought it was odd that four forgeiners seemed to know our langauge so well without knowing much about our culture."

"Wow, that can come really handy," Hikari piped up.

"Yeah, but it tastes bloody aweful!" George moaned. "Whoever first made it had no taste buds, I'm sure of it."

"That or Professor Snape purposely left out flavoring to spite us," Fred griped.

"Would you two stop accusing Professor Snape?" Percy snapped. "He's a respected member of the Howgart staff and a Potions Master. Stop giving them a bad image of him!"

"Excuse me," Iroi inspected before the argument got out of hand any more. "Will we have to drink that stuff everyday? It would be very hard to get a whole school to drink it."

The train pulled up to the platform and many people got off, not paying the large group of chidren and one adult much attention.

"I don't know what the arragements are," Precy said. "Actually, this is going to be a bit of a surprise for the Wizarding World. That means you two have to keep your mouths shut about this!"

"Okay, okay!" the twins coiled to behind their dad with grins.

"He means it, Boys," Mr. Weasley sighed. "We'll talk more about it on the train."

"All aboard!" cried a man uniform. The Digital Destines and the Weasleys handed their tickets to the man, who ripped and returned them. A few others got onto the train as well, but as soon as the last woman and her small child stepped onto the train, it started to move.

"C'mon, there's a place where we can all sit together," Mr. Weasley moved to the bussiness area of the train. It was the third to the last compartment, but they finally found it large and empty, with plently of room for all of the them.

Once their carry-ons were stowed away and everyone had a seat, the questions came.

"Why are we being so secretive about this?" Ken asked. "Is it . . . dangerous?"

"Oh, heaven's no!" Mr. Weasley laughed a bit too heartedly. "No, no, no. Dumbledore merely wishes to keep this a surprise. And believe me, it will be one that Howgarts won't forget in a long time."

"Are we under water!" Hikari gasped. Of course they were – there's not many fish that fly.

Percy smirked a bit. "Guess we should have warned you. This train goes under water whenever there's a large body of water in the way. The American wizards own the longest, contistant track from California to Japan."

"Yes, and we're moving faster than any muggle's land transporation," Mr. Weasley picked up. "We'll be in England in about four hours."

" . . . How?" Takeru asked.

"Magic protected tracks, so we don't hit anything, and the train itself runs on a form of consintrated sun light."

"Solar power with a twist," Daisuke said, with a nod from Iroi.

"How could no one notice this before?" Yamato wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Surely someone would have noticed train tracks diving into the sea."

It was explained, in more or less words, how the wizard world was kept hidden from the muggle world, which also brought up Mr. Weasley's job. When that converasion topic was run-dry, Iroi picked up another thread.

"So, I guess we will have to drink the Speech Potion everyday," Iroi stated. "I don't think I could learn to speak English flunetly any time soon."

"Oh, that's going to suck for you guys," Fred seemed to be more compassionate than joking with them.

"Trust us, have it _after_ breakfast," George shuddered.

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry!" Fred rubbed his belly. "When's lunch being served?"

"At lunch time," Percy growled.

"But that's hours away!" George whined.

"I'm sure they have a snack cart being wheeled around here somewhere," Mr. Weasley assured them. "We'll get something to tie us over until lunch time."

The chocolate frogs and Berry Bot's flavors were dulled from the lasting taste of the Speech Potion, but that didn't stop the Weasley's from devoring the junk food to make up for breakfast. The children tried some of the candy, but Daisuke ended up spaltering a frog against the window in a vein attempt to catch it and Ken ended up with a lint flavored bean . . . so they really didn't bother with those treats. Instead, they ate a few of the editable iteams Miyako gave them (sharing with the Weasleys of course).

The rest of the train ride was pretty . . . dull. Converasion was kept up with questions about each other's cultures, but after a few hours, no one really wanted to speak. The Chosen Children needed a chance to soak in all that has happened and the Weasleys were just plain tired. When they weren't sleeping or eating, the ten would watch the senery fly by.

"And here we are!" Mr. Weasley hopped off the train. The morning was bright and clear, showing off every detail of the landscape in pride. It was still nine in the morning, which through off the Digital Destine until they learned that the time difference between Scottland and Japan was sixteen hours, but Scottland was behind Japan (as in, Japan's day was over before Scottland's), so it was almost as if they had gone back in time and gained twevle hours.

But they still felt the effect of a four hour train ride: sore leg mussles that caused them to teater a bit, slight headaches as they were reintroduced to full-blown day light, and tired eyes.

Author looked about and then checked his muggle wrist watch in puzzlement. Suddenly his eyes flashed in realization and he changed it to the approriate time zone. His eyes flashed in realization once more. "We're a head of schelude! No matter. Dumbledore, will picked you guys up soon."

"Aren't you staying with us?" Takeru asked.

"I wish, but I need to get my sons back home," Author sighed.

"But, if we're ahead of schelude, won't they have to wait?" Percy asked.

"Nah, we'll send an owl up to the school." Author tugged on his jacket. He shook the hands of each Japanese child while his sons made verbal goodbyes.

"We'll see you when school starts," Fred piped up.

"Yeah, you guys can hang out with us," George added.

"No matter which house you get into."

"Good luck with everything," Percy said bowed his head a little.

It seemed that just as quickly as the Weasleys entered their lives, they were gone, swept away by the swift train. The Chosen were left with nothing to do but wait.

"Headmaster, they've arrived," McGonagall said as soon as she stepped into the office. Dumbledore was behind his desk, as usual. He wasn't consintrating on anything outward, merely his own thoughts.

"Good. Thank you, Minerva."

"Albus. . ."

"Is something the matter, Minerva?"

"I . . . I was wondering if this was such a good idea. Not telling these children the truth, I mean."

"You know as well as I do the trouble that we will get in, if this doesn't go right. The school itself might be shut down. Until we know more, we must keep everyone in the dark."

"But how can we know more if we don't . . ."

"We were able to find these children in the first place, weren't we? I'm sure it's only a matter of time."

". . . Yes, I guess you're right. I don't like lying to students, though. Not even for a good reason."

"Neither do I." Dumbledore walked to the door of his office. "Shall we go meet them?"

Upon the normal train, not the International Trainsit System train, the four Weasleys were sitting in silence, trying to get use to the time changes. With their inner clocks on the fritz, they found themselves very tired. In the warming morning light and cooled interior of the train, it was very easy to let slip all their worries and just relax . . .

"Dad!" Percy sat up in alarm.

"Perfect timing, Perc'," George whined. He, along with the rest of them, were on the verge of a good nap.

Percy twitched his lip at George, not that anyone saw. He was cranky for waking himself up, as well. However, he had found himself on that plane of the mind where everything was clear and meaningful. Of course, the mind's eye was usually of very narrow site when it visited that plane, so the answers of the unvirse were elusive, but the answers of immidate questoins could be found. Or, in Percy's case, questions in need of answers could be found.

"Did you give them some of the Speech Potion before we left?"

"Wha –?" Mr. Weasley asked sleeply. "Speech Potion? Oh, yeah . . . . Heh. Heh, heh."

"What are you laughing at, Dad?" Fred asked.

"Hagrid is going to have a _great_ morning…"

**End of Chapter Two: _Speech Potion on the Train_**


	4. Wands and Lost

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Three: Wands and Lost

Author: Dragon Starbo

E-mail: Amara LokiFire

E-mail: PG, will change

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: Don't and will never own Digimon or Harry Potter.

Author's Notes: I realize that the Japanese names aren't as well-known as the English names for the Digi-destine – I remember how hard it was for me before I had them memorized. Here they are again, just so you guys can keep track.

Matt - Ishida Yamato

T.K. - Takaishi Takeru  
Kari - Kamiya Hikari

Davis - Motomiya Daisuke  
Cody - Hida Iori  
Ken - Ichijouji Ken

Also, I felt very playful with this chapter. Hope everyone gets a laugh out of it.

**Chapter Three: Wands and Lost**

"FOL-LOW ME!" Hagrid boomed, gesturing excessively to get his point across. The children nodded, hoping that he'd realize they weren't def, just didn't speak English that much.

"I want to shout at him in Japanese, just so he'd see what it's like," Ken mumbled, making Yamato chuckle. "Yamato, you know more English than the rest of us. Why haven't you offered to translate?"

"Because I don't it that well. I can barely make complete sentences. Besides, what's the fun in that?"

"Whoa!" Daisuke gaped at the huge, stonewalls that loomed above the six children.

"Dai', you sound like a broken record," Takeru sighed. He had been sitting in the same boat as Daisuke when they crossed the river to Howgarts, so he had heard Daisuke say "whoa" a thousand times over. Hikari and Iori were in a boat with Hagrid, and Yamato and Ken shared the last one. Now they had gotten out of the boats at a dock, climbed the many stairs up to the school, where an impressive old castle met them with open doors.

Hagrid led them to the Great Hall, where a collection of adults in robes and some in pointed hats sat at a long table. There was seven seats left, clearly meant for Hagrid and the children. They looked around, at the non-existence ceiling inviting the summer sun in, the massive space all around, and the large tapestries of a griffin, raven, snake, and badger on the walls.

An old man with the longest, whitest beard the children had ever seen got up from the head of the table. He had half-glasses, light colored robes that brushed the ground, and hat with no brim, but pointed and matching his robes.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he beamed. "I hope your travels were pleasant and you will join us for an early breakfast."

"Mr. Dumbledore," Hagrid jumped in. "The kids don' speak English."

Dumbledore paused for a second. "You mean Author didn't give them the rest of the Speech Potion?"

"No, I think he forgot. That, an' his letter said the twins was with him."

"Oh. Well, no matter. Snape, could you give them their pendants?"

A crooked-nose, greasy hair man gave a slight snarl and got up from his chair and walked around the table with six golden pendants with silver changes. He handed the children each one, not even giving a smile, and sat back down. When he saw the children studying the gifts instead of doing the obvious thing, he grunted, "Great. More geniuses for me to baby sit."

The pendants themselves were a sight to see. Perfectly round in their palms, evenly thick, and with Japanese writing that said, "NEVER LOSE THIS." In the very middle, about the size of a nickel, was a smooth, round crystal filled with green liquid.

"Dang, they're pretty generous, aren't they?" Takeru whispered.

"I think they look pretty," Hikari put hers on.

"Oh, it looks so beautiful on you, my darling!" a woman in a nurse-looking outfit smiled brightly as if Hikari was her own daughter.

Hikari started. "I understand you!"

"Yes," Dumbledore smiled gently. "The pendants hold a bit of Speech Potion."

"Oh! I thought you had to drink that . . ."

Dumbledore blinked, then looked at Snape, who was wiping his mouth, even though they hadn't been eating anything. The lines of eyes were a little higher than normal.

"Hikari, what's he saying?" Daisuke asked.

"Put yours on and you'll be able to tell," Ken answered for her.

Daisuke looked around and saw that everyone else had put his pendants on. He quickly rang his around his neck.

"…Potion is usually put into pendants, such as those. The original creators could never figure out how to make it taste well enough for people to actually sallow it, so these pendants were made to let you soak it through your body without having to ever taste it. Last longer, as well. But, enough of the history lesson! Come, come!" Dumbledore waved the seven standing to the table. "I'm sure you're all hungry after that long trip."

"Actually, it was shorter than we thought it was going to be," Ken said as they found their seats. The seats left open were purposely spread out through the table, so the children were flanked by a professor on each side.

When they were all seated, Dumbledore waved his hand and there was food on the table! Had anyone been looking directly at the plate, like Daisuke had, they'd seen a bubble of food expand and pop silently in the tenth of a second – it happened so quickly, Daisuke wasn't sure if that really happened or it was just his eyes. In any case, his growling stomach told him to worry about it later.

"Yes, the muggle's way of travel is out-dated," Snape rolled his eyes. Sense Snape talked on as if nothing magical had happened, the children figured it was normal. _Must be easy to clean up,_ Hikari thought.

"Yet we use their out-dated ways all the time," Professor Sprout counter. "Cars, trains, busses – all of them were invented by muggles."

"Let's put aside our political debates for now," Professor McGonagall cut-in. "Why not we introduce ourselves to our newest students?"

So, zigzagging across the table, starting with the headmaster at the end, then going to his right, then left, and ending with the caretaker at the end of the table, all of the Howgarts alumni spoke their names. There was: Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster; Minerva McGonagall, transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House; Serverus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slythinerin; Pomona Sprout, Herbology professor; Rolanda Hooch, the flying instructor; Sibyll Trelawney, the divination professor; and Rubeus Hagrid, caretaker of Hogwarts.

Don't worry that much about where they're sitting, Reader. This is just so you know who's teaching our friends from Japan over the summer.

"_All_ of you are teaching us?" Hikari's eyes grew wide. There was more professors than students in this room! Surely that was overkill.

"Not Hagrid and myself," Dumbledore nodded to his long-time friend at the other end of the table. "But everyone here, by their titles, have a valuable part of wizard knowledge to teach you."

/Okay, so only six of them are going to teach us. Still, that's one professor per us./ Hikari sighed, half-revealed and half-overwhelmed.

"So, we're going to learn shoot fire balls?" Daisuke asked with his mouth full, over zealous as always. "Are we going to learn to fly?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, I don't know about fireballs, but Madam Hooch is here to teach you how to fly your brooms."

"Fly brooms?" Iroi asked with a raised eye brow.

"Yes, but first we need to get your wands."

"Wands?" Yamato raised his eyebrow.

"Yes. And your robes, books, cauldrons . . . There's much to buy, but we'll get all that after breakfast."

"We're taking them to Diagon Alley so soon after their train ride?" Professor Sprout asked, concerned.

This time it was Professor Trelawney who spoke up in a misty voice that grated Yamato's nerves from the first syllable. "Yes, that's a wonderful idea! Get them their things and they can start learning right away."

"They should get to know the place first," Sprout insisted.

"Actually, we have all of summer and our school years to get to know this place," Hikari spoke up.

"Yes, we're very interested in starting our lessons as soon as possible," Iroi picked up.

"We don't mind more traveling today," Takeru added. "We've traveled a lot in one day before."

Daisuke, caught up in the moment, blurted out, "Yeah, like that time we went half away across the Dig –"

"The _country_," Ken interrupted smoothly. "To the very tip Japan."

"Oh, yeah, you guys told me about that field trip last year," Yamato cemented the lie.

"Very well then," Dumbledore hid his inner thoughts with a smile. _Prophase gaining their trust and learning of their secrets might not be as hard as we had figured._ "We shall leave for Diagon Alley after breakfast."

After that, the real meal began. There was hardly any talking out of the "could you please pass the . . .?" The only who really continued to talk was Professor Trelawney, to the dislike of Yamato's nerves.

"Six is a very good number," Professor Trelawney said in her lofty, misty voice. She sat to the left of Yamato, at the end of the table, with Hagrid on her other side. "I'm very glad you're a small number of students. If you're to have seven more, I would have not bothered to teach you."

"Seven more . . ." Yamato cocked his head to the side. Six plus seven . . . "Thirteen? You wouldn't teach us if there was thirteen of us?"

"Such an unlucky number!" Trelawney hissed, as if shocked that he could not figure this out for himself. "Bad things happen when that number is present!"

"But . . ." Yamato did a head count, just to be sure. "There are thirteen people at this table right now."

Trelawney sat straight up and did her own head count, her eyes were exaggerated as to how wide they were because her thick, round-rimmed glasses.

"Hmm, would you look at that," Yamato muttered, drawing Trelawney's eyes upward. A cloud out of the dozen above had just separated. Now there was thirteen of them.

She gasped in horror and quickly stood up. "I – I'm sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore, I must be going."

"But, Sibyll, you've barely touched your food," Dumbledore protested.

"Yeah, you've only eaten a thirteenth of what's on your plate," Yamato gestured with a grin.

Trelawney yelped as she stumble-danced with her chair. She sputtered something about preparing next school year's lessons as she bolted out of the Great Hall.

Yamato took a bite of his eggs. It was all he could do from laughing out right. When he looked out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the professor's were either very intent on their food or sporting a small smirk. Professor McGonagall was wiping her mouth much the same way Snape had done earlier.

Forty-five minutes later, the Digi-destine's first meal in Scotland was completed and the professors were determining who would take them to Diagon Alley. It finally came down to Dumbledore ordering Hagrid, Professor Snape and McGonagall to take the children. The only person who seemed hard-press for the idea was Snape.

At Hogsmeade, the day was bright and hot. The children felt a little out of place, in their usual attire while it seemed like everyone else was dressed in dark colors and robes.

"Hey, look over there," Ken nudged Daisuke, gaining the attention of the others as well.

There was a group of teenagers and they looked like normal people. Jeans, skirts, and tee-shirts. Beyond them was a couple, holding hands and dressed just as causally as the teenagers. As they took a sweeping glance, they found more and more people who were dressed "normally" and their anxious died down.

"Ah, I see you found the pet shop," Hagrid grinned, not comprehending what had just happened.

"Pet shop?" Daisuke asked. The group of teenagers Ken had spotted had stopped in front of the pet shop, with the girls saying "Oh, how cute!" to nearly every cat on display. Daisuke grin but then it faded. "Ah, I bet pets aren't allowed at Howgarts," his shoulders drooped and his arms swung loosely his side.

"Cats, owls, and frogs are," McGonagall smiled warmly.

"Really!" Daisuke perked up quickly.

"But how are we going to pay for a pet?" Hikari pointed out. Daisuke's roller-coaster of expressions hit another dip and he was sad again.

"I think there's enough in the grant we got," McGonagall answered.

Daisuke let out a whoop and grabbed Hikari's arm as he bolted for the pet shop, leaving everyone else blinking in the dust.

"I guess we'll divide and conquer," McGonagall said after a few minutes. "I'll go get the money from the bank. Hagrid, please watch over Daisuke and Hikari. Snape, take the others to get their wands."

"Do I have to?" Snape growled.

"Yes," McGonagall hissed and took off before he could protest more. It wasn't that she thought herself incapable of handling the small number of children. It was that Snape needed to warm up to those children, even if just a little bit.

Snape didn't give warning, just marched off. The children waved to Hagrid as he made his way to the pet shop and followed Snape a bit causally. They liked Hagrid, even if he was taller than any human being. They liked Professor McGonagall as well, though they had a feeling she was strict. Still, those two were better than Snape, whose only smile they saw was twisted like a school yard bully's after he dumped someone in a garbage can.

At the wand shop, a small, wrinkled man came from the back room at the sound of Snape's voice. He didn't look to be angry at Snape's rude snaps, but he wasn't overly joy that the certain professor was there at all.

"Ah, Professor Snape, I haven't seen you in here sense you got your own wand," Ollivander greeted him. "Has your finally broke?"

"No. _They_ need their wands," Snape pointed to the children.

A confused looked came over Ollivander. Usually new students got their wands near the start of the school year, not at the end of it. And he knew of every person who came through that door one way or the other, but these kids, he . . . "Oh! They're the ones I got the owl from Dumbledore! Yes, yes, you two, come here."

Yamato and Iroi came up to the counter. Ollivander turned around and reached above his head to pull out a box straight above him and one a few more rows up and a bit to the left.

"Ten inch cypress with a drop of dragon's blood," he handed to Iroi. "An eleven inch white pine with a griffin hair. Go ahead a shake them."

Yamato and Iroi shook their wands and Yamato glowed with the brilliant light his two companions had done before. Iroi's wand, on the other hand, spat out a fuzzy blue light that bounced off of the shelf above Ollivander's head – wand boxes flying as if thrown – smacked the ceiling, and finally found a subtitle target.

Professor Snape didn't move, didn't even breath as he felt the magic over come him. What a perfect time to let his eyes wonder around the small, dusty-dim shop. Had he been paying attention, he could have easily deflected the "attack."

Iroi turned slowly around, afraid of what he'd see. Of course, he didn't expect _that_.

Takeru, Ken and Yamato did their best to hide their laughter with looking as shocked as Iroi. Still, it was kind of hard when the "bad ass" of the professors was suddenly wearing a summery blue dress.

That's right. A blue. Summer. Dress. It barely reached his knees and at his waist, it spread itself to make a skirt bottom. Sleeveless with a square-ish U neck line, it had three white buttons down the front to top it off. And no, this wasn't over his usual attire. As of three seconds ago, the dress _was_ his attire.

Iroi put the wand on the counter and bowed deeply. "I am so sorry!"

Snape closed his cape with a snarled. Ollivander giggled. "Now, there's a site I never thought I'd see!"

"Speak of this to anyone and I'll you shut down!" Snape glowered.

"Oh, of course, of course. You professors have to keep up an image," Ollivander was still giggling as he ushered Yamato away and motioned for Takeru to come up.

He retrieved two more wands and this time, nothing and no one's ego was damaged as Iroi got a twelve inch almond with a demiguise hair. Takeru found himself with an eleven and a half inch honeysuckle with a veela hair.

Because of the disruption, Ken was the last one up there. Ollivander was determined to get this kid's wand correct the first time, so at least he can say he got three out of four (for his own personal record). He studied Ken with a quizzing eye, measuring every part of him. Ken didn't fidget, though he had to resist the urge to. Finally, Ollivander snapped his fingers and ran back to the store. They heard a bunch of rustling and Snape mumble several Latin-sounding words with his wand out. Each time, he checked his robe, grumbled, and tried another word.

"Eleven inch mahogany with a dragon heartstring!" Ollivander cried in triumph.

Ken gave it shake and at first . . . nothing. Ollivander was just about to take it back when Ken tried again. This time, the light appeared and Ken felt a rush of energy through his body. He was breathing harder than usual and Ollivander looked very please with himself.

"Well then, all that remains are the fees," Ollivander gloated to himself.

At that point, Professor McGonagall came in with Daisuke and Hikari. Hagrid was outside, holding a caged owl, who was looking at everything and hooting.

Ollivander wasted no time with introductions, just motioned for the two new ones to step up to the counter.

Hikari and Daisuke shrugged and stepped up to the counter while the others hung back. Ollivander scurried to the back room, wondering which wands should he try upon these two. The man looked old enough to have been at the opening in 382 BC, Daisuke mentioned. Hikari punched his arm hard enough to make it sting.

"Owe!" Daisuke whispered as Ollivander returned.

"Here, try these. A nine inch Elm with a dragon whisker," he handed it to Daisuke, "and a eight inch Ebony with a sliver of a unicorn's horn," he handed to Hikari.

Much like earlier this morning, Hikari and Daisuke examined what was placed into their hands.

"Go on, give them a shake!" Ollivander ordered.

Daisuke and Hikari firmly gave the wands one shake suddenly there was a bright light around both of them, forming from the top of the head and down to the feet, as if that light were meant for them and them alone.

**"There you have it!" Ollivander said, inside his head he was doing a little jig. "Now, who shall be paying for all of these?"**

**McGonagall dropped some coins into his hands and got a few other coins in return. She turned around and finally saw Professor Snape. "Why, Professor Snape, are you catching a cold in this weather?"**

**Everyone, aside from Daisuke, Hikari, and Iroi, sported small smirks that were wiped away with an ice-cold glare from Snape.**

**"I will return to Howgarts early. Surely the two of you can handle these idiots," Snape stomped out without another world, ignoring Hagrid's cheerful hello to him and the laughter he heard from within the store.**

**Snape made his way down to the Floo Station when a strong breeze caught his robe. Though he had a good handle on the top portion, the fabric blew from the waist down as freely and joyfully as the color blue upon the dress.**

**"Professor Snape . . .?" A familiar, uncertain voice muttered. "What the bloody hell are you wearing?"**

**Snape didn't even look at Draco's bewildered face – what was that boy doing there anyway? Gathering his robes, he awkwardly held his robe closed and practically ran to the Floo Station.**

**"Is something the matter, Iroi?" asked Hikari as the group walked along the sidewalk of **Diagon Alley to the next stop for their robes.

"I just feel really bad for what I did to Professor Snape," Iroi found his feet to be very interesting ever sense they left the wand shop.

**"Hey, it wasn't your fault. Like Professor McGonagall explained, when a new wizard holds the wrong wand, the magic isn't controllable and unexpected things happen."**

**"I know, but I still feel bad. I wonder if there's a way to make it up to him."**

**"Maybe you can get him something," Takeru offered. "You know, a way of saying you're sorry."**

**"Yeah, maybe some stud-earrings and a purse to match his new look," Daisuke chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes. He, of all people, can enjoy a good joke.**

**"**Motomiya Daisuke**!" Hikari hissed to hide her own smirk.**

**"What? I was being serious!" Daisuke grinned behind Iroi's back.**

**"Don't worry about it," Yamato placed a hand on Iroi's shoulder, making him look up. "Professor Snape was once a new wizard, too. I'm sure once he cools down, he'll be fine."**

**Professor McGonagall, who was bringing up the rear while Hagrid was in the front, thought, _They really look out for each other. Why do we have to be so secretive? They're good kids and deserve our trust._**

**"THOSE FOWL BRATS SHOULD NEVER HOLD ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES A WAND!" Snape bellowed. After leaving Diagon Alley, he headed straight for Dumbledore office – but made a quick pit stop at his chambers to change out of the dress.**

**"THAT HORRIFIC CHILD NEARLY PUT SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK ON ME!" Trelawney's voice was an echo of Snape's as she busted through the door of his office. It had taken her awhile to gather up the courage to find Dumbledore. Once she found out that Yamato wasn't around, she had more courage than a dog protecting its favorite chew toy.**

**"Sense when did mentioning the number thirteen mean seven years bad luck?" Dumbledore asked calmly from behind his desk. He was peacefully writing letters to various people when his relaxing time was abruptly ended by Snape and the soon-to-follow Trelawney. Did the two of them forget how to knock?**

**"They shouldn't even be here!" Professor Snape had turned his voice down a few notches, but it was still very loud. "With the way they bumble around everything, they'll ruin our plans!"**

**"They are a key part of our plans." The two seemed to have forgotten about Trelawney, so she steamed to herself to the side, growling very un-misty-like.**

**"The wizarding world has done fine without them before, it will continue to do so," Snape's voice was now more reasonable, though it still held the harsh edge.**

**"There is too many unknown variables here," Trelawney spoke up. "We don't know enough to know if this will even work. You're risking everything – your reputation, our jobs, the _school_ – on a hunch. A half of a hunch, at best."**

**"You always seem to run on less than that," Snape muttered, but Trelawney ignored it.**

**Dumbledore stood up. "It is not too late," he said with firmness in his voice. "You don't need to be a part of this. I only called upon you for you are the best and have been in on this from the beginning. However, I do not want you to force your hand in something you do not believe in. If you want nothing more to do with this, you merely have to say so."**

**"I want nothing to do with this!" Trelawney hissed. "Even if he stays for the school year, I refuse to teach him! That boy has a bad aura about him!"**

**"Very well then," Dumbledore nodded to the back of Trelawney while it made dramatic exit. He looked back at Snape with questioning eyes.**

**"And let some brat think he's won?" Snape answered the unasked question.**

**"Just keep him alive for the school year," Dumbledore sighed, knowing that was the best he could for poor Iroi.**

**Snape left with a dignified sweep of his robes.**

**Dumbledore sighed, sat back down at his desk, and picked up his quill again.**

**"About time those two left," one of the many headmaster pictures upon the wall. "Woke me up from my beauty nap."**

**"No amount asleep can help that ugly mug," a headmistress smirked.**

**End_ Chapter Three: Wands and Lost _**

I have a question, for the readers out there. In the next chapater, I am going to explain what life is like for the Digi-destine durning the summer at Howgarts. However, I can do it one of two ways. 1) Have acutal scenes with dialog to go in depth on how they learn, or 2) write a summery and skip to when the school year starts. I'm leaning towards option number two, myself. However, if you guys want it, I'll deciate a whole chapter to their summer classes.

Also, I have decided to start responding to the reviews I get. I should have done this soon, but I got so excited each time I finished the chapter, I didn't remember to give credit to my read. --;

Glichhunter: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Metallika: First off, thank you for the review, I really enjoyed it. About the "dl" noise, I was told to make it if I couldn't roll my tounge, but yeah, rolling the tounge is correct way to do it. Also, this is a little bit of a spoiler, I am going to start using their English names. They are going to get them kind of like nicknames because, like most people reading this fanfic, it's just easier to remember and recongize. I reposted the names at the top, just for you!

Wraith: Thank you, my beta reader.

Amara LokiFire: Ah, my sister and reserved beta reader. (lol jk) I do need to go back and correct some things in previous chapters. Even Wraith, as cool as he is finding mistakes in my work, is still human. I use to have two beta readers, one for the Digimon aspect and one for Howgarts, but Mayhem got very busy and therefore, I'm down to one. Maybe when I reach a writer's block I'll fix the last of the mistakes.

Dark672: Yeah, that's the years twins and Percy would be in. I didn't want to start of with them meeting Harry and his gang right away, I wanted to try something a bit different. If I got those years wrong, I'll check and change them.

Kaiva Darkwolf: Woo! You were my first reviewee of The Digital Meets the Magical: Take Two. lol.

Broken Part of Me: Ah, the very first review of the very first try of DMTM. It was actually your review that helped me decide to change this fanfic around. For those of you don't know this, Broken Part of Me and I wrote each other a few e-mails back and forth as I tried to make it better. Each time s/he kept saying, "Better, but this still needs changes." I wish you would check it out again and let me know what you think...


	5. Great Hall, Great Meetings

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Four:

Author: Dragon Starbo

E-mail: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure 

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Never have, never will. Same goes for Digimon. You fans out there will notice that I'm using either direct or close-enough quotes out of the third book. This is because for a little bit in the fanfic, it's going to follow along the same plot line, and honestly, how many different ways can you write something? However, instead of sighting or using quotation marks to show where I used material from the book (because that would really mess up the flow of the chapter), I'm stating it here. I used parts of chapter five from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm not making any money off of this, I'm not officially publishing it, and I'll take credit for my words, but J.K. Rowling is helping me out a little more this time.

Author's Notes: I'm taking a little inspiration from the wonderful bard, William Shakespeare, and his play Hamlet. After intermission, Hamlet comes back and tells you about pirates, though you never see them. To give this story a jump start back to life, I decided to skip over the summer and have it played back in chosen memories later on.

Chapter Four: Great Halls, Great Meetings

"You nervous as me?" Hikari asked, squeezing Daisuke's hand.

"We've battled _how_ many bad guys who could have easily taken over the worlds if it weren't for us?" Daisuke asked, trying to act tough. The higher-than-usual pitch in his voice gave him away, though.

The six of them were standing in a small room that was contented to the Great Hall at the Hall's far corner. It was the first night of the official school year, and they had been instructed to wait in the small room until summoned. They could here Professor McGonagall calling out a name, then a mysterious new voice shouting out a house name, and dozens of students applauding from one section of the Hall or another.

"Why didn't we just go with the first years?" Iori asked. "I mean, that's what we are, right?"

"Technically, yes. But we're also the very first transfer students outside of Europe to come to Hogwarts," Ken stated. "We're a surprise, remember? Only the Weasleys and the Hogwarts staff knows we're here."

A name starting with a Z was called and soon the door's handled twisted softly. The children all jumped like the chairs and couches they sat on bit them.

"Okay, I'm very, very, very nervous," Daisuke whispered, squeezing Hikari's hand tighter than she had his.

Professor Flitwick quietly opened the door and waved them all into the Great Hall. There, before their widened eyes, were hundreds of children sitting on amazingly long benches that boarded amazingly long tables. All of them were black robes and pointed hat. Many of the children were wearing a scarf of two colors – each table had its own set of two colors that were mimicked the large banners on the walls of each house. Hundreds of candles floated about the students and below the bewitched ceiling.

And all of the other pre-teens and teenagers were staring right back at them. For a moment or two, no one spoke. Then came a few subtle questions whispered, people leaning towards the person they were sitting next to, and even some fingers being pointed at the digital destine.

"HIDA, IORI!" Professor Sprout's voice rang out like a crack of thunder in the dead of night.

Startled, Iori almost ran up to her. She pointed a stool and he took his seat. A hat she had been holding went over his head. What was really creepy for the boy, who had no warning, was that the hat moved! He could feel the well-worn leather squirming and heard a low hmm.

"I do believe you belong in – HUFFLEPUFF!" that mysterious voice, which now the Japanese students realized came from the hat itself.

There was an automatic scattered applause before the table with yellow and black scarves went into a full-on roar. Confused and a little frightened, poor Iori didn't move until Sprout leaned over and said, "Go sit with your house, dear."

He took the hat off, who winked at him, and went numbly to his table. A quarter of the way down, two students scooted over and let him sit between them. They were about to assault him with questions, but Professor Sprout had called another name.

"ICHIJOUI, KEN!"

Ken stepped up, more confidently than Iori, simply because he already saw the process. On the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed over his raven blue hair.

"Where to put you?" the hat asked. "You're a bit more difficult than your little friend…I sense some Slytherin qualities in you."

Ken remembered what Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin was like, and decided that he did not want to be in the house.

"_Please don't put me in Slytherin! Please, don't!"_ Ken whispered in his mind furiously.

"_Oh? But you could go far in Slytherin,"_ the hat replied.

Ignoring the fact that the hat had just replied to him in his mind, Ken continued to beg, _"Please, put me in ANY other house!"_

"_Hm. I'm getting déjà vu here. Very well, sense you're so dead-set against Slytherin, I do believe you belong in – RAVENCLAW!"_

It took a minute for Ken to realize that the last word had been spoken out loud. The Ravenclaw table, with its colors of blue and bronze, cheered wildly.

Ken felt the hat being taken off and went to find a seat at his house's table, thinking, _They chose who'll be your family at Hogwarts with a talking hat. That's almost as crazy as trying to get Daisuke to pay attention in math._

"ISHIDA, YAMATO!"

Yamato went and sat up on the stool, got the hat, and had no conversation with it.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Grinning, Yamato went to the table that was the loudest out of the other three. It didn't take him long to spot three heads of red; two of them were waving for him to sit with them.

"Hey, good to see you guys again!" Yamato didn't bother with trying to figure out which one was Fred and which one was George. He waved to Percy a few seats down, figuring his voice wouldn't carry over the cheers even as they died down.

"Welcome to Gryffindor!" one of them exclaimed.

"Good to see you made it into the best house!" the other stuck out his hand.

"Thanks," Yamato shook the hand and sat down on the side of the twins that were closest to the teacher's table.

"KAMIYA, HIKARI!"

She made her way up and was aware of the stares she got from the boys. Even in her robes, the boys found her amazingly cute and had no shame in displaying such thoughts – aside from those already in love with another girl.

"Poor, Hikari," Yamato whispered, noticing her blush even from where he sat.

"Yeah, she's not taking the stares as gracefully as you did," Fred noted.

"What stares?" Yamato looked at his friend, who looked at him like he was insane. _I guess I got use to girls giving me that kind of attention from being in a band._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Hikari jumped off the stool and almost ran off with the hat – would have, if Professor Sprout hadn't been quick in snatching it off her head. She walked as fast as she could and sat beside Yamato, very interested on the plate in front of her. It did not slip her perceptions that it was the boys who clapped the loudest.

"You'd think they've never seen a Japanese girl before," she said through gritted teeth.

"A cute Japanese girl," Yamato grinned. When he saw Hikari blush even more, he laughed. "Hey, at least you've got a boyfriend whose willing take on half of a school to defend you."

Hikari looked up and saw Daisuke being held back by Takeru. He was as red in the face as Hikari, but obviously for different emotions. He didn't get a chance to act upon them, however.

"MOTOMIYA, DAISUKE!"

Daisuke grumbled and stomped up to the stool. The hat barely touched his head before it cried out;

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He also race to the table and wedged himself between Hikari and the girl sitting next to Hikari. He laced his fingers through hers and glared at all of the boys looking their way.

"Daisuke, please," Hikari pleaded in a low tone. "Don't get over protective of me and don't scare off our male house mates."

"TAKAISHI, TAKERU!"

"What about the other houses? Can I scare them off?"

Hikari grinned at his questions. "So long as you exclude Ken and Iori."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The three looked up, realizing they had forgotten about the last of their friends. The twins, however, had kept a better eye on things, and waved Takeru to the other side of the table. Their brother Ron had been saving two seats for Harry and Hermione, but with a little pushing, Ron got the people to his right to open one more seat.

"Thanks," Takeru grinned and sat down next to Ron, right across from Daisuke. With a small smirk, he asked Ron, "Did Daisuke scare you?"

"I don't scare that easily," Ron scoffed.

"Yeah, Dai' here would need eight legs," George said.

"And make webs," Fred said, giving Ron's glare a cutesy smile.

Deciding to break up the teasing, Takeru said, "I'm Takeru. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ron Weasley," Ron replied.

"You guys are related?" Daisuke, who had been paying more attention to Hikari, re-entered the conversation.

"They're my brothers," Ron said, and muttered another word that could have been "unfortunately," but at that moment the Great Hall's doors opened and in walked Professor McGonagall and two teenagers just as Professor Flitwick is leaving with the hat and stool.

The Japanese kids took notice that everyone seemed to be intent on the two who walked to the Gryffindor table, some even pointed at them. The boy and the girl sat on either side of Ron, right after Takeru moved down a plate (he simply realized those were the two Ron was saving the spaces for).

"What was that all about?" Ron whispered.

Harry started to explain, but Dumbledore stood up and commanded the attention of the room.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very series, I think it best to get out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and the Japanese students looked at each other in confusion. They hadn't seen any of these Dementors hanging around before. The only thing demented in this castle seemed to be Peeves.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each other. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.

Percy puffed out his chest and stared around impressively, making it clear to the Japanese students, and anyone else looking, who the Head Boy was. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only the children from Japan and those around them clapped hard, along with one or two more Gryffindors at other parts of the table. The Japanese students also saw Professor Snape's glaring, twisted face and decided to clap just a little bit longer, though it wasn't completely understood why Snape hated Lupin. Through the whole summer, the two never crossed paths as far as the children knew.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

Ron and his two friends stared at one another, stunned. Then they joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Hagrid, who was ruby-red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared, pounding the table. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

Once again, the Japanese children looked confused.

"Biting books?" Daisuke asked.

"I don't think we've gotten the books for this school year," Hikari sounded worried, even with her voice half-mumbled into the applause.

"I was so happy to be done with summer school, I didn't even think about it," Yamato nodded in agreement.

The three next to Takeru were the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.

"You might have noticed that there are six students with Japanese names amongst you. These are the very first transfer students from out side of Europe to come to Hogwarts. I hope that you will make them feel as welcomed as any other student attending Hogwarts.

"Well, I think that's every of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

And just like their very first meal at Hogwarts, the feast appeared on their golden plates and in their golden goblets. Unlike the first meal, the Japanese children were not fazed and dug in with the rest of the students.

"So, Yamato, what'd you think of Hogwarts?" Fred asked. Or, as Yamato knows him, the twin closest to him.

"It's good," Yamato nodded. "Hectic, though. I hope this year isn't as fast-paced as the summer school."

"'Summer school?'" Ron lifted his eyebrow. "I didn't know Hogwarts did summer sessions."

"They don't, usually," Hermione interjected.

"Unless they have a student who –"

"Shall we say, 'late'?"

"– coming into his magic."

"And he just happened to have a brother and four other friends –"

"Who were in the same boat."

"Although that little one in Hufflepuff is a year younger…"

"Remember, in Japan, they start kids off at the age of ten."

"Oh, that's right. Makes sense that Dumbledore let him in."

"Wait!" the girl cut into the twin talk. "How do you two know so much about the Japanese students and the Japanese magical school system?"

Before the twins could answer, Ron thumped the table and declared, "It was you two! You're the reason why Ginny and I were afraid of coming inside!"

"Ron, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"Near the beginning of the summer vacation, Dad got to go to Japan to get the transfer students –"

"And you didn't tell us?" the boy on the other side of Ron stopped eating long enough to ask the question accusingly.

"I didn't have a choice! The Ministery of Magic said to keep it a secret," Ron flushed. "Anyway, on that day, Ginny and I were out side when Mum screamed like that time she found out what you two did to her kitchen when you guys were twelve."

"She did?" George gaped.

"Awe, man! We missed it!" Fred whined.

"Yes. Ginny and I didn't come in until she called for us."

"Ah, that would explain it," Fred looked at his twin with a knowing eye, while his twin mimicked him.

"He and Ginny didn't see the fireworks."

"Mum yelled herself horse."

"Good thing for soothing teas, though."

"Wouldn't have been able to snap at Ron for whining about not going to Japan."

"Should've just come along with us."

Hermione nodded, finally understanding. "You two snuck off to Japan and probably gave your parents and the Ministry a shock. I'm surprised you didn't get into more trouble."

Her bland words took on sharpness to them that stopped their twin talk. However, instead of confronting the accusation, they merely shifted the topic.

"Oh, Ronny-boy," George leaned over his plate. "When did the Scream Sprout wear off?"

Ron flushed deep red and glared at his brothers. "Around lunch time."

"Interesting."

"I'm not taking anything you two give me, ever again."

"That's what you said when you were five."

"I'm sorry," Fred looked over to Daisuke, Hikari, Yamato, and Takeru with not real politeness. "We've been totally ignoring you, our new friends, with boring inside family talk."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Hikari gave an amused smile. "Gave us a chance to eat."

"You're enjoying European food?"

"It's pretty good," Hikari nodded.

"Well, maybe on a trip to Hogsmeade, I can take you to the Three Broomsticks."

Daisuke's glare shot to Fred so fast Fred almost flinched.

"Uh, of course, you're more than welcomed to come along, Dai'…"

"We would like that," Hikari kicked Daisuke's shin kind of awkwardly, but got the message across.

"Your name is 'Die'?" the boy with glasses and huge appetite asked almost the same as Hikari was speaking.

"Daisuke. Dai' is my nick name."

"Not a very good one," Ron stated bluntly.

"Ron!" the girl on the other side chided him.

"What? It is! Why doesn't he just call himself 'Killer' for all that it amounts to?"

"Hmm, our little Won-Won may have a point," George nodded.

"I agree, my brother. How should we handle this?"

"I say we give him a new nick name!"

"Brilliant!" Fred thumped the table.

"Um, what?" Daisuke asked. "You can just call me by my –"

"What about 'Suke?"

"Too girly. Daisu'?"

"No. Sounds like 'die soon.'"

"Guys, really, just call me –"

"Well, why don't we give him a European name?"

"What? Hey!"

"That's a great idea!"

"But what?"

While the twins were quiet in thought, Daisuke took the chance and jumped up. "Hey! You guys don't need to give me a new nick name! Honestly, just call me Daisuke!"

"DAVIS!" the twins shouted at once, pointing to Daisuke. "Your new name is Davis!"

"Bu-bu-huh-what?" Davis floundered about.

"Our good deed is done for the done for the day," Fred grinned.

"Let's find Lee and see what he's up to," George suggested.

"Bye, Davis!" the twins said in unison.

And just like that, the twins left, leaving a sputtering Daisuke – now Davis. He finally sat down, aware of the few stares he was getting and groaned.

"Are those two always like that?" Hikari asked as she rubbed her boyfriend's back in comfort.

"Pretty much," Ron sighed. "Once they get an idea, they run with it."

"But, hey, at least it's a cool sounding name," Yamato grinned.

"This school is … _nuts_," Davis moaned.

Hikari kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "I like it."

After that, the dinner went by smoothly. Of course, there was only ten minutes left of it, and that time was spent eating. Ron and his friends, who had finally introduced themselves as Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, got up and went to the professor's table to congratulate Hagrid. The Japanese students thought for a moment if they should do the same, but they hardly knew the man; the only time they spent with him was when they first arrived, and he was shouting at them.

The tables started to clear, with the Prefects calling for the first years of their houses. It had already been explained to the Japanese students, that no matter which house they got into or which grade they were, they were to follow the Prefects up to the dorms. Even in their two weeks of vacation and exploring the castle, they didn't find the dorms.

They weren't really looking for them, either, so when each class was led to their dorms, the Japanese children were surprised at how simple it was to find them once you knew the way.

The Gryffindor Japanese students were grateful that the students were too stuffed, tired, or over whelmed by their first night in Hogwarts and didn't ask them many questions. According to Lupin, the students were extremely curious about everything aside from the actual class materials and anything that not academic related will be all over the school in three-thousand different variations by the end of the day.

Percy came trumping up from the back of the crowd and once in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady and announced, "The new password's 'Fortuna Major'!"

Takeru thought he heard the moan of a fellow Gryffindor, but couldn't be sure. Bottle-necked, the crowd slowly squeezed through the hole and went into a circle room filled with over-stuffed, mismatched chairs, end tables, rugs, and more moving portraits. Iori, when the first arrived, wanted to know all about the portraits. How did they move, talk and act like they were alive? The professors gave him various complex answers about the process, each one more confusing than the one before it. Finally, Dumbledore, who they saw every once and a while, gave an answer everyone could grasp. "It's magic."

The Prefects of this year did a quick tour of the dorms, including the other years so the Japanese students knew where to head, and left the first years to head to their rooms. The other students had either sat for a chat or gone straight up to bed, tired from the long day of travel and feasting.

Even though the Japanese children hadn't traveled that day, they found themselves exhausted from all of the anticipation and nerves they ran through. Hikari was the first to leave, following a group of second year girls to the correct room. Daisuke, seeing no other reason to stick around, went off for his own bed with Takeru just behind him. Yamato went off to his room and was kind of surprised to find four other Gryffindor boys, two of them were Harry and Ron.

Yamato easily found his bed – it was the only one no one was at. It also had a stack of books and a letter that was folded in thirds and had his name spelled out in katakana.

With the letter unfolded, Yamato read to himself,

Dear Yamato Ishida,

Congratulations on your completion of the summer session. As you know, you are considered a third year. However, do to your lack of education in certain subjects, you will have a tutor, which will be assigned by the end of the first day of classes. You are to meet with this tutor three times a week.

Your classes are:

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Care of Magical Creatures

Potions

Transfiguration

Herbology

Muggle Studies

Minerva McGonagall, 

Deputy Headmistress

"Hey, um, Yama – Ya –"

"It's Yamato, Ron."

"Yamato? What kind of name is that?" a boy asked. He was round with black hair and didn't really look like much.

"A Japanese name. What's your?"

"Neville Longbottom."

Yamato had to smirk. "What kind of name is that?" When Neville flushed, Yamato gave him a genuine grin. "You can call me Matt, if you want."

"Matt?" Ron asked as he stripped to get in his night clothes.

"Yeah, my friends in the Unite States call me that. Just don't start calling me Mathews or Mattie," Matt followed the other boys lead and got into his night clothes. He usually only wore boxers to bed, but seeing how he was now living with four other boys in a circled room, he didn't feel all that comfortable with so little to cover him. He was just glad that there weren't any paintings in the room.

As the climbed into bed, Matt found out that the other boy in the room was named Seamus Finnigan. They wanted ask Matt all about Japan, he could tell, but they were all tired. Before long the other boys had nodded off and were snoring away.

_Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!_

Matt quickly and quietly got into his trunk and dug to the very bottom where his digi-vice was. Holding it to his chest, he looked around to make sure everyone was still out.

_Whew!_ Matt turned down the sound and hopped back into bed, pulling the curtains close, then pulled the blankets over his head so the little glowing screen didn't show beyond his bed. The message that had woken up the device was from Davis.

Davis: Hey, are you guys still up?

Matt, growling, wrote back: Yeah, but you nearly gave me a heart attack! What if one of my roommates had still been awake?

Davis: Eesh, sorry.

Hikari: I'm awake.

Iori: I'm here, though I agree with Yamato. You should have given us a warning.

Davis: It's not like I thought of this ahead of time!

Ken: I'm surprise you think at all.

Davis: Ken! That's mean!

Hikari: Yeah, stop picking on my boyfriend.

Ken: Yes, Princess.

Takeru: Kind of snappy tonight aren't you, Ken?

Ken: Sorry, I'm tired.

Matt: We all are. Which is why I'm surprised that Davis messaged all of us.

Davis: Hey! My name is Daisuke.

Matt: But Davis is a much cuter name. Don't you think, Hikari?

Hikari: Oh, definitely. And the girls in my room started calling me Kari.

Ken: Am I the only one who doesn't get to tease Davis?

Kari: Yes, because you're mean right now.

Davis: Like the rest of you aren't. I seriously don't even understand how they came up with Davis…

Takeru: Well, from an English-speaking stand-point, it is better than Dai'.

Iori: At least you don't have a nickname yet.

Takeru: Not true. I'm letting them use TK, so they stop tripping over my name.

Ken: What about you, Iori? Have the Hufflepuffs chosen a name for you?

Iori: …yes.

Matt: Well, what is it?

Iori: …Cody.

Kari: Oh, how cute!

Cody: Cute? I'm not even sure how they came up with it! A girl gave it to me.

Matt: Well, there you go. Girls are good with coming up with cute things.

A few minutes passed where no one said anything. The others weren't sure, but they thought they could feel Cody's blush through the thick walls of Hogwarts.

TK: Cody? You still with us?

Cody: Why are you using my nickname?

TK: Well, I'm sure those are the names we're going to be called by from now on, so we might as well get use to them.

Ken: A very good point.

Davis: You don't have a nickname, do you?

Ken: Nope. My name translates into all languages.

Davis: You suck…

Matt: Hey, before we all sign off, how did you all do on the finals?

TK: Nice subject change, Matt. Davis and I are considered second years, though we're going to have to meet with a tutor two or three times a week.

Cody: I'm a first year, but because of the summer classes, I might skip a year if I keep up with my studies.

Kari: That's wonderful! Then you can join most of us in our classes next year! I'm in the same boat as TK and Davis.

Ken: Ditto.

Matt: One word answer. You are tired.

Ken: Yes.

Matt: All right, let's all get some sleep.

TK: Yes, _Mom_.

Matt: Just be glad you're not in physical range.

TK: Night!

The screen said that TK signed and soon all of the other Japanese students said good night (only once because it would take forever to say good night to everyone). Yamato turned off his digi-vice and slipped it under his pillow, amazed that the batteries hadn't died out the whole time he had it turned on during the summer.

In truth, he had forgotten that Mr. Weasley had enchanted it to work in the magical world. Falling asleep, though, he was very glad that it had. Only Davis and TK got to be in the same dorm room, the same year, and the same house. Everyone else had something different from each other, which meant there was a less of a chance of them staying close. One of the promises he had made to himself was to keep them as close as possible so they could be strong in this strange world.

**End Chapter Four: _Great Halls, Great Meetings_ **

Katakana is one of the three forms of Japanese writing. There is also hiragana and kanji. Kanji was borrowed from the Chinese form of writing and uses symbols (example: to write crop field, it's a box with two lines cutting it into fours). Hiragana and katakana are basically the same, only hiragana is much curvier and katakana is straighter. Katakana is primarily used to write foreign words, plant and animal names, and for emphasis. It's also used for writing out people's names when they want to be sure of the spelling, sense hiragana symbols can be compared to English cursive writing.


	6. Hippogriff and the Beast

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Five: Hippogriff and the Beast

Author: Dragon Starbo

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: Some more direct quoting from the book, this time from chapter six. Don't worry; I'm not going to follow the book plot-point-by-plot-point, just for the time being. And a reviewer made a very good observation; "...and i have a digivice how come i cant chat with it? not fair..." While in the show they never have actual IM chats, they exchange e-mails and send them to everyone, so I kind of took creative license with that.

And, thank you, all who have reviewed. I suddenly got three or so reviews all at once and asked myself, "Where the hell did you guys come from!?" Thank you. Thank you very much for your support – all old and new reviewers.

**Chapter Five: Hippogriff and the Beast**

The children from Japan barely had time to sit down when the children of their households started flooding them with questions. They were asked, naturally, about the magical side of Japan. The students were shocked, naturally, to find out that the children had grown up muggle. Disbelieving questions came. Then a few questions about magical Japan once more, by a few who just couldn't grasp the statement, "We don't know what magical Japan is like."

Then came the onslaught of questions regarding Hogwarts, just as the Japanese students were certain they couldn't possibly ask about anything else. How did they learn about Hogwarts? Why were most of them second and third year students if they never went to Japanese magic school?

"What was the summer session like, Davis?" a Gryffindor boy asked.

Davis pretended to have to think while he ate some of his breakfast (it was the only way he was able to take more than one bite in between questions). In truth, he had already thought of the answer two days into the summer session.

"In Japan, we have something called 'Examination Hell.' To get into the good junior high schools and high schools and colleges, you have to take very difficult examinations that are extremely competitive. Kids would spend nights doing nothing but studying and spend extra hours in a school made just to teach you how to take the tests better. Some would have mental breakdowns from the pressure."

"Merlin's beard!" someone gasped.

Davis nodded and said, "The summer session was worse than all of that."

"Is that true, Kari?" a Gryffindor girl asked. Kari, who had a mouth full of toast at the moment, only nodded earnestly.

"But it was worth it, to not be held back a year," Davis grinned before eating the last of his eggs.

Neville asked, "What about Matt, though? He –"

"He is only a few seats down," Matt called with a grin as Neville blushed. Matt had been assaulted with his own group of Gryffindors (mostly female Gryffindors) but had over heard the boy's question. "You just heard Davis describe his summer worst than Examination Hell. He only needed to learn one years worth of materials. I had to take separate classes to try and teach me three years worth, but I could only seem to get through two years of it."

"Honestly, I'm surprised Matt learned that much during the summer," Kari offered after a sip of orange juice. Matt had been asked another question, and being in an easy-going mood, turned back to answer it. Kari now just spoke to Neville and the other Gryffindors.

"Eh, my bro can handle pressure," TK finally spoke up. "He's a Teenage Wolf, after all."

"A what?" Neville asked, alarmed. "Did you say he's a werewolf?"

"What? No!" TK balked at him. "I said _Teenage Wolf_ – it's a band. He's the lead singer and guitarist."

"Is that true?" another female Gryffindor asked, batting her eyes at Matt. "You can sing?"

"He can put his mouth up to the microphone," TK snickered, getting a piece of potato thrown at him by his older brother.

Unfortunately, the rest of the questions were cut short, sense the other students informed them classes were going to start soon. Neville and the other third year Gryffindors ran off, groaning about how far away their class was. The Japanese students finished up their meals in a few quick bites and headed out of the Great Hall, meeting up with Ken and Cody along the way.

"Finally," Ken sighed. "I thought they would never leave."

"Awe, does Ken not like the attention?" Davis teased.

Ken shook his head. "It's not that. I've never felt so dumb in my life. They were asking me about theories and ideas that I had never even heard about – all of it with magic. They didn't seem to catch on that I grew up . . . what was that word they use?"

"Muggle?" Cody offered.

"Yeah, that. That is such a random word. None of the students I talked to knew where it comes from. It's like an author pulled it out of his hat."

"Heh," Davis smirked. "Hey, I've got to go this way."

"Hey, Bro, I saw the third year schedule," TK piped up. "If you're not taking divination, then what are you taking?"

"Muggle studies," Matt replied with an amused grin before waving everyone a goodbye and heading off down the hall, the laughter of his friends echoing in his ears.

Along his way . . . Matt got lost. Really, really lost. Cursing at himself, he went up and down hallways, not wanting to ask someone for help. He was getting more and more frantic, not wanting to be late for his first class of the yea–

"Ow!" a females voice came out of nowhere and it took Matt a few seconds to realize that he had bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry!" Matt apologized to the blur of frizzy brown hair. He bent down to help her pick up the many books that had spilled on the floor. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's all right," the girl muttered distractedly. She swept some hair from her face and reached for a rather thick book in one motion.

"Oh, hey, I know you," Matt half-grinned. "We met last night in the Great Hall. Hermione, right?"

"You're Ya–" the girl stopped, clearly trying to remember.

"Matt. It's my nickname," Matt shrugged off the questioning eyes as he bent down for another book.

"What's your full name?"

"Ishida Yamato."

"I thought your first name was Yamato."

"It is. In Japan, we put our last names first."

"Oh," Hermione picked up her last book and shoved it into her pack.

"What year are you?"

"Third. Why?"

"I was just wondering – you have so many books. Are you in advance classes or something?"

"Hogwarts doesn't have advance classes like that," Hermione started walking off down the hall, so Matt (who didn't know which hall he was down) followed her. "I'm just taking a lot of classes."

"Oh," was all Matt responded with.

Hermione almost did a double-take with him. After Ron had grilled her about her classes, she had been excepting verbal assaults from everyone. And why not? After all, three of her classes were in the same hour and if she could tell them how she got to all of them, she would just to shut them up. But Matt merely accepted the fact and left it alone. Maybe it was because he didn't know which classes she was taking, therefore didn't realize her baffling situation. Even still, it was nice to talk to someone without dodging questions.

"Which class are you off to?" she asked.

"Muggle Studies. You?"

"Same," Hermione smiled.

_Oh, good!_ Matt thought to himself, but kept his relief inward. The two walked on and chatted until they came to their classroom. Hermione got to use some facts she had read in _Hogwarts: A History_, and was extremely pleased when Matt didn't accuse her for being a brain or a bookworm, but instead asked her more about Hogwarts. In the classroom, the two sat beside each other.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Matt and Hermione left Muggle Studies in a very happy mood. Both were the only two muggle-raised students in that classroom, so to actually know what a rubber ducky was meant for had rapidly turned into an inside joke between the two.

"But I have to admit," Hermione added, "that Professor Incombrence does have some interesting views on the way muggles handle relations."

"Yeah, he does," Matt nodded. "It's –"

Matt stopped short when Hermione seemed to perk up as if danger was right around the corner. "I'm sorry, I need to … use the little witch's room. I'll meet up with you in transfiguration class. Bye!"

And like a wind, she had disappeared behind the corner. Matt was taken back and had to take a moment to figure out what had just happened. "I guess she really had to go…"

Matt did find his way to the Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom easily enough, sense he had gone there during the summer session almost every day. What confused him, though, was that Hermione was entering the classroom with her other friends – Ron and Harry – when Matt was sure that he would have made it before her.

_Maybe she knows a shortcut,_ he guessed as he was gestured to sit beside Hermione. He tried saying hi to Harry and Ron, but they both seemed upset at something. Harry was trying to become invisible, while Ron was too far away to silently gain his attention.

Matt also noticed that the two boys weren't the only nervous ones in the room, as other students would take quick peaks back to the back of the room, as to if to make sure that they were all still there. Matt tried to ignore it and enjoy Professor McGonagall's speech about Animagi, wizards that can transform themselves into a certain animal. The height of it was when the professor turned herself into a cat.

After turning herself back, she said, "Really, what has got into you all today? Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class."

Hermione raised her hand, once she realized that everyone was only going to stare at her friend. "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and –"

"Ah, of course," Professor McGonagall said, but Matt wasn't paying much close attention.

'_Just had'? She just had muggle studies with me. How did she have Divination already? Unless there's an earlier period…No, that can't be it. The schedule had divination down for the same time as muggle studies._

Harry answered that it was him who was going to die, and Matt, despite his inner musings, couldn't help a small snort from escaping. Good thing it went unnoticed as Professor McGonagall explained about Professor Trelawney's predictions. Her little joke at the end lightened the mood, though some were still unconvinced.

After class, Hermione was asked to stay behind by Professor McGonagall. Ron and Harry both waited for her outside of the classroom, and Matt, not really knowing the two, decided it was time to meet up with his brother and friends in the Great Hall for lunch.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

The Great Hall was filling up with students, and as Ken stepped through its huge doors, he tried to gear himself up for the onslaught of questions that was sure to come.

"So you made it into Ravenclaw, I see," a boy's voice drifted into Ken's ear. Confused, Ken turned around and saw a short, pale, blond-haired boy with cold, grey eyes. Not knowing who this boy was at all, Ken wasn't even sure if he was talking to him. However, the boy confirmed it when he said, "I'm Draco Malfoy, Slytherin."

Ken repressed a shudder. From personal experience, he knew he shouldn't judge a person on external facts. Maybe Draco was a nice person and not at all like Professor Snape.

"Ichijouji Ken," Ken nodded a slight bow.

"So, you're really from Japan?" Draco didn't seem all that interested in politeness.

"Yes. Odaiba. It's –"

"My family is one of the oldest, pure-blood lines," Draco cut into Ken's small talk. He had on his lips what Ken tried to think of as a smile, but it was more of a smug smirk. "I noticed you seem to have trouble making friends in your own house, so I'm here to offer my friendship."

Ken looked at Draco's out-stretched hand, puzzled. However, Draco misread it and said, "I'm sure your family is powerful in Japan. I'm sure we can find our friendship mutually benefiting."

"Why haven't you approached any of my friends, the other Japanese students?" Ken asked, starting to see what kind of person Draco really was.

"Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff?" Draco sneered.

Ken had enough with politeness. He gave Draco a harsh, cold stare. "Those Gryffindors and Hufflepuff are my friends. If my family had any power in wizard Japan, I honestly don't think we'd share it with you."

Draco was now full-out frowning and Ken saw the first real bit of emotion in his eyes. He was pissed off. Draco took his hand back and hissed, "You've just made a big mistake."

_Can you be more clichéd?_ Ken thought, but did nothing other than stare Draco down until he left for his own table.

"Ken! Hey, Ken!" Davis's voice called from the Gryffindor's table. He was waving with both hands while Kari was trying to get him to stop.

Ken smiled and went to his friends, sitting down beside TK and Matt, who were on the other side of the table. Cody was on the other side of Davis.

"All right!" Davis cheered as he thumped back down on the bench. "Got the gang together once more!"

"You make it sound like we've been separated for months," TK rolled his eyes.

"Well, it feels like months!"

"Aren't we supposed to be at our own tables?" Cody asked, though no one took that as a sign that he didn't want to be with his friends.

"Nah, I asked a prefect. Students usually eat at their own, but it is okay for them go to other tables."

"So, who was guy you were having a staring contest with?" Matt asked Ken.

"His name is Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin," Ken stated, gaining frowns and disgusted looks from his friends. "I tried being nice at first, hoping that he was decent."

"And?" Davis leaned over his plate.

"He thinks my family is some pure-blood line, like his, and wanted a friendship that was 'mutually benefiting.'"

Matt snorted. "That was stupid of him."

"Very," Ken agreed as he served himself some lunch.

"You should have jerked his chain a little," Fred said beside Ken. Ken, who hadn't realized the twins had arrived, jumped. "Should have made him think you're someone important in Japan!"

"But I…" Ken started and caught himself.

Fred and his twin had a way of making it feel like there was nothing in the world that should be kept a secret between friends – like no matter what the secret was, once it was out, everything would be fine. But how does a muggle-raised boy tell magic-reared boys that there's another world out there, with a whole population of monsters, and the only way to get there is through a computer?

"But I don't like lying," Ken finished.

"Trust us," George leaned so he could be seen.

"Lying to Draco," Fred said.

"Is not a big deal, ya know?"

"He does it so much."

"It'd be nice to give him a taste of his own medicine."

Ken just shrugged and decided to let the topic drop and continued to enjoy his lunch. It didn't last, however, as a Ravenclaw boy dragged him back over to his table in order to discuss an obscure theory about magic before the dawn of time.

After lunch, Matt got to go outside to enjoy a class of handling magical creatures. When he had woken up this morning and collected his books, he figured out right away that this will be his most interesting class. After all, he has never met a book that has tried to bite him. If that's the course material, Matt was almost giddy to find out what the actual lessons were going to be like.

Walking along, he found himself behind three familiar students.

"Hey, Hermione!" Matt jogged the last few steps up to her. She was currently on left side of Harry, with Ron flanking his other side. Ron and Hermione looked a little peeved but Hermione's face brightened up right away at the sight of Matt.

"Matt!" Hermione greeted.

"Harry. Ron," Matt nodded small bows to each other.

"Hey, Matt," Harry answered back, while Ron nodded to him and then pretended to be very interested in what was directly in front of him. "Enjoying Hogwarts?"

"So far, yeah. I'm looking forward to this class, though."

Up ahead, a kid that Matt now identifies as Draco Malfoy was talking with two large, brutish kids (they made Draco seem even smaller). He was very animated in his speech while the other two were laughing along.

Matt then noticed that Harry frowned a little.

"Hey, mind telling me what's up with that Malfoy kid?"

"It's nothing, just that Malfoy's a smiley git," Ron huffed.

"There must be more to it," Matt tried again. Conversation between the two boys and himself felt stiff and Matt knew if he was going to make any friends, he needed to get past polite social chat. "Why is his chat with his friends annoying you, Harry?"

Harry, however, looked even more reluctant to say anything.

"I've seen him at the meals – whenever you walk by, he pretends he's fainting," Matt pressed. Harry turned a low shade of red.

"Hey, just back off!" Ron snapped at Matt. "It's none of your business!"

"Ron!" Hermione chided.

"Why are you sticking up for him?" Ron asked, but Matt headed it off.

"I'm just curious. Besides, I think I'll find out sooner or later. Would you rather I hear the rumors or know precisely what happened?"

"Harry fainted on the train."

"HERIMONE!" Ron and Harry cried in unison.

"Well, he's right!" Hermione snapped at her friends. She turned back to Matt and ignored the death glares from Ron and the pleading ones from Harry. "On Hogwarts Express, Dementors were looking for Sirius Black and –"

"Who?"

"A convict who escaped from Azkaban, a wizard prison. The Dementors – creatures that guard Azkaban and suck the joy, literally, out of a person – they came into our compartment, and things got really cold. We were all shaken up by it, but Harry was the only one who fainted."

"Why don't you tell him Harry's birthday and his favorite sweet?" Ron growled.

Matt, however, decided to ignore Hermione and Ron's bickering. Harry had fallen a step behind Hermione, trying to act like he wasn't there. Matt fell in step with him and said, "Eh, so you fainted. It's not the end of the world. But I take it that's what Malfoy has been going on about?"

Harry nodded.

"Don't let it phase you. Someone who makes that much fun of someone else clearly is trying to cover up his own problems."

Harry barked out a surprised laugh, which caught the attention of Ron and Hermione. Ron looked almost like he had been betrayed, but Hermione brightened at the sight of Harry actually smiling.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Hagrid called from the door of his hut. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

Leading them around the edges of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid led them to an open enclosure (yes, that is bit of an oxymoron). A fence bulged out of the trees like a large, unpolished wood ring laying on its side, while the other end of it disappeared into the trees.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here! That's it – make sure yeh can see – now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books –"

"How?" Draco asked, cold as ever.

"Eh?" Hagrid asked.

"How do we open our books?" he repeated.

The whole class took out their books with him, showing that they had all bound them rope, tape, and belts – a few stuffed them into small bags or used binder clips. Matt looked sadly as his book nawed through his favorite belt.

"Hasn' – Hasn' anyone big able ter open their books?" asked a sad Hagrid.

The whole class shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter _stroke_ 'em," said Hagrid. "Look–"

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the tape. Before the book could bite Hagrid, he ran a finger down the spine. The book shuddered and opened and laid still in his hands.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I – I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny! Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry hissed.

"Someone should have told him you have to kiss the book to get open," Matt muttered under his breath, but it was over heard by Harry and Hermione, who held back their smirks.

Hagrid seemed to have trouble getting back on track with his thoughts, and seemed to finally decided it would have been better to just get the magical creatures of this class.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him –"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry repeated.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you –"

"Oooooooh!" a Gryffindor girl squealed, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Matt looked over and saw a dozen creatures of feathers and fur heading towards them. They looked like mixture of a bird and a horse, with nice long talons. Their colors ranged from grays, brown, pink, and black. Honestly, Matt thought they were quite beautiful.

He was so focused on them that he didn't realize what Hagrid was saying until Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved up to the fence. Matt joined them at the fence.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Matt could hear Malfoy and his buddies whispering but he didn't pay attention to them.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.

"Right – who wants ter go first?"

Matt didn't need a second invitation or a second to think. He sprang over the fence like a professional gymnast, landing with a big grin. Everyone look in a collective breath, surprised that anyone was so willing to get close to something that so clearly dangerous.

Hagrid looked very pleased at the willing student. "Good man, 'amada!"

"Please, call me Matt," Matt decided it wasn't even worth trying to get him to pronounce his name correctly with his thick accent.

Matt thought he heard Malfoy say something snarky, but didn't quite catch it. Next thing he knew, Harry was over the fence with a determined look on his face.

"Oooooh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!" two girls whispered in unison.

Harry ignored them and looked up at Hagrid. "I'll do it, too."

"Great!" Hagrid beamed. "Right then – let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak, Matt. Harry, I'll give yeh Horn."

Hagrid unchained two hippogriffs, a grey one and a bronze one, from the others and pulled them up to the boys. Hagrid made sure they were separate enough for them not to bump into each other, but he could easily grab both hippogriffs if the need arose.

"Easy now," Hagrid said. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink. . . . Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much. . . ."

_Thanks for the heads up. Now I really want to blink,_ Matt thought, but kept his eyes open and locked onto Buckbeak. He didn't see what all the fuss was about with these hippogriffs. They weren't that intimidating, really. Then again, Matt's faced down monsters of metal, dragons, metal dragons, and various other creatures – some of them looking like mythical creatures, but many of them didn't. Though they were witches and wizards, Matt could tell that they haven't had much experience with creatures.

"That's it, Harry," Hagrid said. Matt didn't chance stealing a glance over at his fellow Gryffindor. "You, too, Matt. . . . now, bow . . ."

Matt bowed in a simple, deep movement, while Harry did a short bow of uncertainty. Buckbeak responded almost right away, bowing much like Matt had just done. Horn seemed to not notice Harry's presence.

"Great job ter, Matt! Yeh can touch him – pat his beak, go on! … Harry, back away…"

At the urgency in Hagrid's voice, Harry started to step back. But then Horn surprised everyone by sweeping into his own bow. The students had been more focused on Harry than Matt, and some of the girls gave a collective gasp.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said, ecstatic – Matt was pretty sure the huge man was resisting the urge to clap. "Right – yeh can touch him now! Go on!"

Harry inched slowly towards the hippogriff.

"Oh, c'mon, Harry, he won't bite," Matt sported a friendly smile while Harry shot him an uncertain look. Buckbeak nudged his hand, so Matt refocused his attention on petting the beak of the hippogriff. "You're pretty friendly, aren't you?"

Once Harry patted Horn's beak a few times, the class broke into applause – aside from Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. They seemed really disappointed, like they had just opened up their Christmas gifts and saw they got socks.

"Righ' then. I reckon they'll might let yeh ride 'em!"

Matt's face lit up, while Harry's paled ever-so slightly. Buckbeak kneeled and Matt jumped on his back without hesitation. Hagrid had to tell Harry how to get up on Horn.

"Relax, Harry," Matt said softly so that not even Hagrid heard. "There's nothing to be worried about."

"Says you," Harry retorted back. This wasn't turning out to be a good day for him. Had he the chance to think a second thought he'd probably walked away from Horn and not stop until he reached the Gryffindor Common Room.

But at that moment, Hagrid slapped both hippogriffs' hind-quarters, and shouted, "Go on, then!"

Horn took off first, angling himself to unfold his wings without smacking Buckbeak. Buckbeak quickly followed and Matt braced himself but did not wrap his arms around his hippogriff's neck, like Harry did with Horn. Matt let his body rock to the pulse of Buckbeak's wings and those watching him from the ground could say he looked like professional rider as he flew once around the paddock and landed with not so much of a jolt as Harry got when Horn's hooves thumped the ground.

"Good work, Harry and Matt!" roared Hagrid as everyone except three choice Slytherins cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

The rest of the class lost most of their fear and hopped over the fence. Harry and Matt got to watch while the rest of the class took turns trying to win the hippogriffs' favors. Hagrid, after making sure none of the hippogriffs were feeling like nibbling on students today, went and stood by Matt near the gate.

"Ya rode Buckbeak pretty well," Hagrid commented, trying to seem nonchalant about it, though Matt wondered if he was trying too hard.

"Yeah, well, some things just come naturally, I guess," Matt did his best to seem as blasé as his professor.

"Not tha' naturally. That takes practice."

Matt almost froze. The tone of Hagrid's voice was suspicious. What was he going to say that didn't betray his secret about the Digital World? Did it even matter – of course it does matter it if he kept it a secret. As Gennai had once pointed out, if everyone found out about the Digital World, then it could ruin it for the Digital Monsters. If non-magical people would turn it into a hot vacation place, what would _magical_ people do?

"I – uh, my grandfather, that is…" Matt tried to stumble out an explanation. He wondered why he couldn't lie so easily to this man. _Maybe I'm just afraid he'd smash into the ground…_

"AAAAH!" a high-pitched scream was sounded and Hagrid was gone from Matt before Matt could even register that the huge man actually moved that fast. "I'm dying! I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me – gotta get him outta here –"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, blood sputtered from Malfoy and dotted the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

The rest of the class followed, shaken – all aside from Matt, who went over to Buckbeak.

"Are you all right, Buckbeak?" Matt asked, waiting for Buckbeak to come to him and not break eye contact. When Buckbeak lowered his head, Matt patted his beak. "I'm not sure what happened, but from what I know about Malfoy, he probably deserved it, huh?"

Buckbeak's eyes closed lazily in response.

Hermione watched Matt with interest. He was the only person in the class, aside from Hagrid, who didn't fear a hippogriff.

"Hermione, are you coming?" Ron called back.

"Yeah…I'll be with you in a minute," Hermione said, not even taking her eyes off of Matt.

Ron said something, but Hermione didn't quite make it out. It sounded kind of mad, but who wouldn't be upset after what had just happened? She was sure she'd be hearing about it at dinner tonight.

"You're really good with animals," Hermione said, choosing to stay by the fence.

Matt looked at her briefly before returning his eyes to Buckbeak. "He's not so scary, once you get pass the talons. The very formable, deadly talons," he added after Buckbeak gave him a glare. Buckbeak went back to enjoying Matt's petting.

"I'm your tutor," Hermione blurted.

"What? Oh! You're the tutor Professor McGonagall talked about in the letter." A small look between confusion and concern passed on his face. He bowed to Buckbeak and went to Hermione only after the hippogriff showed no interest in Matt. "Aren't you taking extra classes?"

"So?"

"Don't you need that time to study?"

"I can handle it!"

"But you have so much already –"

"We're going to be late for Potions," Hermione turned around and marched off.

Matt silently wondered if he could get away with skipping Potions by claiming that he was looking after the hippogriffs until Hagrid returned. Professor Snape and a pissed off Hermione were two too many reasons why he did not want to go.

**End Chapter Five: **_**Hippogriff and the Beast**_

Examination Hell is "juken jigoku." Though it is still the usual way to gain entrance to college and high school, there are some schools that are taking a different approach to these tests. Some elementary and junior high schools are feeder schools for a corresponding school, so some children can avoid the exams until college. I also know of at least one school in Japan that does not require exams to enter, trying a more relaxed version of teaching (it was on special that was made a while back, so I don't know of anything recent).


	7. Happy Halloween!

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Six: Happy Halloween!

Author: Dragon Starbo

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: Hopefully this is the last chapter where I use such large chunks of direct quoting from the book. This time, it's from chapter seven and eight. To cut down on the direct quotes, I rush the scenes that have them, only putting enough details in to make sense of my writings and remind the reader where I am. If you want the whole scene, you can always re-read _The Prisoner of Azkaban_.

And, Digi-writer, thank you for the inspiration. I wasn't even going to write a certain scene until you made mention of it. I'm sure you can figure out which one it is.

**Chapter Six: Happy Halloween!**

"I don't know what Professor Snape's deal is, but I couldn't do anything right in his class!" Davis threw his hands up in disgust. It was after dinner and the Japanese students were heading down the hallways to the library. Ken and Cody had just met up with their Gryffindor counterparts and rolled their eyes at Davis and his choice of topic.

"Davis, you said the same thing about your math teacher," Kari reminded him.

"But that's different! Math is hard, Potions is basically cooking."

"And sense when could you cook?" Matt asked.

"He cooks better than you," TK said.

"What?!" Matt faked being hurt. "No way! I am a much better cook than Davis!"

"You haven't even tasted my cooking!"

"I'm sure you don't use expired milk."

"Are you still upset about that? Geeze, play one prank –"

"For a whole week!"

"–seven times and TK will get all defensive. Dad did, too."

TK pushed Matt and Matt pushed back. The two continued their little walking/wrestling match with the others watching in amusement.

Kari looked at Ken and Cody and asked, "So, how are you two doing in your different houses?"

"Fine," Ken gave a small smile. "They finally stopped asking me magic-related subjects and are now on muggle-related ones. I hope we have some free time so I can look up some of these theories they were talking about."

"Maybe our tutor can help you. What about, Cody?" When Cody blushed a little and looked away, Kari put a hand on his shoulder and asked, "What's wrong Cody?"

"Nothing."

"What? You got a crush on a Hufflepuff girl?" Davis wiggled his eyebrows.

"N-no! Nothing like that!" Cody stammered out. He watched his feet for a little bit and finally said, "I don't think I belong in Hufflepuff."

Kari smiled sympathetically. "You just need to give it time, Cody. You've only been there for a day. I'm sure you'll make friends soon enough."

"Yeah. Girls like shorties," Davis smirked. When no one was smiling back, he asked, "What?"

"That wasn't nice, Davis," Kari chided.

"What? I didn't mean it like that! Cody's a cool guy! I'm sure you'll have a growth spurt sooner or later! If not you're like a chibi! Girls love chibi, right?" Davis stopped, realizing he was only digging himself a bigger hole by the look in his girlfriend's eyes.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" TK hissed as his brother had him in a headlock and was giving him a noogie. They were a few steps ahead of the rest but had stopped for obvious reason.

"Are you two done yet?" Ken asked, taking on his cool, genius persona.

"Only when TK says I'm the best cook in the world!" Matt dug his knuckles harder into TK's skull.

"Ow, ow, ow, okay! Okay! Matt, you're the best cook in the world." Matt realized his little brother with a satisfied smirk. It was wiped away when TK added, "Compared to Davis."

"HEY!" Davis and Matt said in unison.

"Will you please keep it down?" a new voice spooked everyone. Look over to a large door entry, they saw Hermione with all of her books. "Madam Prince likes her library quiet."

"Oh, we're already at the library," Davis stated the obvious two seconds late.

The six followed Hermione into the library and sat down at one of the long study tables.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger," she said in a normal voice, setting the volume for the library. "I'm going to be your tutor for the year. We'll meet three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting next week. For this week, we'll only meet tonight and Thursday.

"I'm not here to do your homework for you, but I'm here to help you out as much as possible. I'll help you organize your papers, find books, and fact-check your work. Are there any questions?"

The tutees looked at each other, a little taken back at how stiff and formal Hermione was being. Matt had a feeling that it had to do with his misplaced concern from earlier that day. During dinner, she barely talked to him and got into another fight with Ron, leaving Harry to try to sooth things between his friends.

Davis raised his hand. "Why is it so important to know what gnomes did over five centuries ago?"

And thus the tutoring session began. For the most part, the Japanese students did their homework and had Hermione look over it when they were done. Davis tried a few times to get Hermione to tell him the answer by wording a question just right, but she wouldn't fall for it. When Hermione wasn't answering questions or reviewing homework, she was doing her own assignments, which were a lot. Matt wondered how one girl could do so much and seem so collected.

They spent two hours in the library and got most of their homework done for the week before Madam Prince shooed them out of the library so they wouldn't be caught wandering the halls after hours. Ken and Cody said their goodbyes with a bow at the library and headed off to their own dorms while the five Gryffindors made their way to their tower.

Hermione chatted with them, now more relaxed. She had been worried about the cultural gap between them, but the six Japanese students hadn't seemed to mind or notice such a thing. She was learning a lot about the Japanese culture as she kept questioning about their lives. They seemed to shy away from certain topics, but Hermione thought those were topics they didn't usually talk about, so she kept it light and went onto the next question.

Up in their dorms, the night was pretty much winding down, but some students were still up and chatting. Despite their dinnertime spat, Ron and Harry were waiting for Hermione. Matt sat with his friends to finish up the last bit of their homework, but soon made his way up the stairs to his bed.

After the boys were all asleep, Matt had a sudden realization. He hadn't told anyone what he found out today! It wasn't extremely important to the group, but they had been wondering why there were Dementors at the entrances of the school. He slipped his digi-vice out from under his pillow and wrote them a quick e-mail about Harry, Sirius Black, and the Dementors, sent it off, and finally said goodnight to his first day of Hogwarts.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

On Thursday, after a _delightful_ potions class with Malfoy and Snape doing nothing to improve the image of Slytherins, Matt made his way to his one of his favorite classes, Defense Against the Dark Arts. This was his first time going to this class with other students, but he already had a taste of Professor Lupin's teachings and even with all the information piled on him, Matt looked forward to this class during their summer.

"Matt?" Neville asked meekly in the hallway. "You studied with Professor Lupin during the summer, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"What kind of teacher is he? Is – is he like Professor Snape?" The name was barely a whisper on Neville's quivering lips.

Had anyone else asked about Professor Lupin, Matt would have joked and told them he was strict, worse than Professor Snape. But after the bullying session Neville just got for his Potions class, Matt couldn't bring himself to tease the boy. But Lupin had also made it clear that he wanted certain parts of his teaching style kept a surprise for the students.

"Well, he was a little hard on me during the summer, but all of the professors were. They had to inflict a lot of knowledge on me. He's a nice guy, though."

Lupin came in late and asked them to put away their books right away and follow him. The class was confused as they followed their new professor out. One Gryffindor girl asked Matt if he knew what was going on and Matt just shrugged. He knew this was how Lupin taught, by experience, but as to what this lesson held for them, Matt really didn't know.

In the hallway, Peeves tried to goad Professor Lupin, but he got the last laugh with a spell that shot a wad of gum up the poltergeist's nose. At their destination, the staffroom, they were met with mismatched chairs and a professor that looked as happy to see them as they were to see him.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."

Professor Snape was almost to the door and Matt was willing him to keep walking but then he turned on his heel in a dramatic fashion and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granter is hissing instructions in his ear."

Matt could tell he wasn't the only one glaring at Professor Snape, while poor Neville flushed furiously.

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," Professor Lupin said, "and I'm sure he will perform it admirably."

Snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap. The room's atmosphere became two notches lighter just by Professor Snape's absence.

Professor Lupin led them towards the other end of the room where there was a wardrobe that suddenly banged against the wall in greeting.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a Boggart in there."

Matt couldn't help but smile as most people were not comforted by this knowledge, especially Neville. The poor boy looked ready to faint. Professor Lupin said a little bit about where boggarts were found and called on Hermione to explain what a boggart was. He then asked Harry to spot the disadvantage with being a boggart, which was that it didn't know who to scare when there were so many. Then came the spell, 'riddikulus.' For Matt, this was a pretty routine format that Professor Lupin used. He was just waiting for the hands-on part of the class.

Professor Lupin asked everyone to think of their worse fear and then some way to make it funny. Matt thought about it and decided his worse fear would be if an evil digimon took over the world. He wasn't sure how a boggart would physically interrupt that, but he had a good idea of how to turn it into something funny.

Neville was ushered up near the wardrobe and given his instructions, despite the obvious terror he had. Professor Lupin opened the wardrobe and Professor Snape out, sneering and looking just as ill-tempered as the real one had been only minutes before. Neville squeaked out the spell and – _crack! _– Snape was wearing an outfit that was even more outrageous than the summer blue dress Cody had put him in during the summer!

"Parvati! Forward!" Lupin called over the thunderous laughter.

The confused boggart saw the "easy target" and turned right into a mummy. Parvati cried the spell and that mummy unraveled and tangled up the mummy. Seamus was brought forward and the mummy became a banshee that lost its voice. The students came up frightening things and took away that fear, each one more confident than the last.

"Matt!" Lupin said.

Matt stepped up and the boggart changes forms in a cracked second. Only, it wasn't an evil digimon, but Gabumon. He was beaten up, laying face down, as frozen as Matt was. Matt stared at his long-time friend in horror, forgetting where he was. The sight of his digimon dead –

"Matt!" Lupin said again, snapping Matt out of his trance. The laughter had died down and now people were wondering what the Japanese boy was going to do.

"_Riddikulus_!" Matt said and Gabumon looked up at him and smiled triumphantly.

Matt returned to the mass as Dean came forward. It was anti-climatic for the class, he knew, but it was all he needed. He watched for the rest of the class, no longer interested in the lesson. He couldn't shake the image of Gabumon, despite his logical side saying that his digimon wasn't in trouble. And even if Gabumon was in trouble, then he should have turned into Punimon, his most basic form, before disappearing. But still, after all of the battles they fought and all of the times they put their lives on the line, Matt realized that he'd be lost if Gabumon were to leave him forever.

Matt took note of the homework and was on his way out when Lupin asked him to hang back for a moment.

Matt looked up at his professor but didn't say anything, feeling a bit anti-social at the moment.

"Most kids your age are scared of spiders and mummies," Lupin stated bluntly. "What was that creature that scared you?"

"Gabumon could never scare me!" Matt retorted before he realized what he had said. Mentally kicking himself, he quickly said, "It was the state he was in. Uh, Gabumon is from an old story my dad use to tell me at bedtime. He's the hero of the story and almost gives his life to defeat the bad guys. . . . I guess the story stuck with me more than I thought."

Professor Lupin considered Matt carefully and finally said, "I guess childhood stories stay with us throughout our lives. You know, Matt, being away from home can be hard, especially when you're in a foreign country. If you ever want someone to talk to, my office door is always open."

"Thanks," Matt said less sincerely than he meant. He left the staffroom with Lupin still studying him.

_I need to be more careful,_ Matt thought. _First Professor Hagrid and now Professor Lupin... If I keep this up, I might as well paint a sign that says, "I have a big secret! Wanna know it?"_

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

From: Yolei

To: Matt

Hey, Matt, how are you? I'm doing okay. The store is busy as usual and school is even more boring without you guys around. Sora, Tai, and the others are hanging out with me more nowadays. Mimi's planning to come to Odaiba for about a week soon. She wanted to visit Hogwarts, so I had to explain to her the whole "hidden from the rest of the world" thing. She doesn't seem to understand the situation that much. One of you guys should e-mail her. I'm sure you guys could explain it better.

I got in contact with Gabumon and everyone. They're doing fine, though they miss you guys. It must suck not to be able to see them any time you want.

Send more e-mails!

–Yolei

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

"Hey, Hermione!" Matt called as he jogged up to her and Ron. The two were slightly ahead of him on the path towards Hogsmeade. "Is it all right if I tag along with you guys?"

"Don't you have other friends?" Ron asked bluntly. It seemed like every time they walked to classes, he was there. He even sat next to Hermione in classes and how he always seemed ready to offer advice was really starting to grate his nerves. "Why don't you hang out with the other Japanese kids?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded.

"My brother and friends are first and second years," Matt answered, trying to act un-phased.

Ron started to say something about other Gryffindors, but Hermione cut him off. "_Of course_ you can hang out with us. We don't mind at all. Isn't that right, Ron?"

It clearly wasn't all right with Ron, but by the tone of Hermione's voice, he didn't argue. Matt decided it was best to stay on other side of Hermione as they walked down to Hogsmeade. Hermione rattled off facts and tidbits about the only all-wizards community in England that she had read about. Although Matt liked that Hermione was a walking encyclopedia (very handy for someone who's in a world he knows nothing about), he saw a chance to get Ron out of his bad mood.

"That's pretty interesting. But, actually, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Quidditch?"

"Quidditch?"

"Yeah. We learned to fly over the summer – well, we learned the basics – and Madam Hooch mentioned a sport a few times called Quidditch. It sounds interesting. Is it anything like soccer?"

"What's soccer?" Ron asked but was over-shadowed by Hermione.

"Oh, Quidditch is a sport played on brooms. There are seven players on each team, three balls, and three goals on each side. The game doesn't end until the Snitch, a tiny golden ball, is caught by the Seeker."

Ron gaped openly at his friend. "Hermione! That is _not_ Quidditch! That doesn't even begin to cover Quidditch."

"I didn't want to bore him with all the rules and technicalities," Hermione defended her short lecture.

"But that's not Quidditch!"

"Then what is Quidditch?" Matt asked, seeing that his gamble on topics had paid off.

The rest of the way, Ron rambled on about _all_ of the Quidditch rules, the players, the equipment, the best brooms, the professional teams, and the best and worst players on the professional team, the Hogwarts team and how the Gryffindors had the best team ever, thanks to Harry, the youngest Seeker in over a century.

By the time they reached Hogsmeade, Matt had a slight glaze to his eyes and Hermione had stopped listening after Ron went onto brooms. Thankfully, Hogsmeade provided a good enough distraction for Ron that he forgot about educating the Japanese student on the greatest sport that was ever played.

As they checked out everything in Hogsmeade, Ron seemed to lapse back into his stand-off mode with Matt. When they got to the post office, Matt was inquiring about international owl post, and Hermione pulled Ron to the side.

"What's your problem with Matt?" Hermione hissed.

"He's just using us, 'Mione," Ron said. "And I don't see why we have to be friendly with him just because you're tutoring him."

"Matt's a nice guy."

"Oh, sure, he _acts_ like it. But what if he's just using us to get close to Harry?"

"What? Ron, how could you say something like that?"

"It's possible! It's a good plan. He worms his in as our friend and suddenly he's friends with Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived . . . Why're you looking at me?"

"I'm trying to see if you actually used your brain on that theory," Hermione glared. "Matt grew up in a foreign country and didn't even know about magic until the beginning of summer. He didn't even know what Quidditch was! What makes you think he knows anything about Harry?"

This logic stopped Ron from thinking up a counter argument, but not from trying. "Well, he . . . he could have . . ."

"He could have been trying to have a nice day with one of the few Gryffindors who actually don't mind that he's foreign," Hermione turned on her heel and marched off to Matt who was asking his last question. He didn't get to hear the answer, though, as Hermione grabbed him and dragged him off to the Three Broomsticks. Ron sulked until he got a butterbeer and then he warmed up to Matt as the butterbeer warmed him up. (By "warmed up," Ron was at least making idle chat with Matt.)

They saw everything else they could think of and finally bought a lot of sweets at Honeydukes – Ron and Hermione for Harry, and Matt for his friends.

"I hope these cheer up Harry," Ron said.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Harry walked slowly after leaving Professor Lupin's office with much on his mind; one of those topics was what he was going to do now. There was still hours left before Ron and Hermione were scheduled to come back. He wasn't ready yet to have the people gaping at his scare and he wasn't ready to work on his homework. But he had to figure out somewhere to go before Filch caught him again.

"_Wingardium leviosa_!"

Harry's ears perked up and he looked around for the source of the spell caster. One of the many classrooms in Hogwarts had its door ajar. Curious, Harry stuck his head in and saw the Japanese students, minus Matt, levitating feathers. The desks had been pushed back and neatly stacked against the walls, leaving a cleared space in the middle for them.

The feathers were going higher and higher, like a vertical race, until they were dropping off as the corresponding wizard or witch lost concentration. The last two left were the kid with the purple hair and the one with goggles. (Yes, Davis is still wearing his goggles, despite having a uniform now. Did you honestly think anything short of lightening frying them would stop him from wearing his favorite goggles?)

"I'm going to beat you this time, Ken," Davis said smugly.

"I highly doubt it," Ken said, almost bored, as he took his feather closer and closer to the high ceiling. "I know you haven't been studying."

"Doesn't mean I won't win."

Kari looked over and saw someone peeking in. "Oh, hi! Harry, right?"

Davis, naturally curious, looked over and lost his spell. The feather fell to the floor, spinning like a slow-motion nosedive.

"Told you I'd win," Ken stopped his spell.

"That's no fair! I was distracted. I want a rematch."

"Next week. We should move onto the new stuff we learned."

Kari had invited Harry in while Davis whined.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry asked.

"Right now?" TK said a little louder than needed. "Watching Davis being a poor sport about losing to Ken."

Davis finally heard his own voice and decided he had enough complaining for the time being. "We're practicing our spell casting. Professor Flitwick schedules us for extra practice every weekend."

"Where is he?" Harry looked around, thoroughly expecting for the tiny professor to walk around the desk to reveal himself.

"Professor Sprout called him away to discuss something. Did you need to talk to him, too?" Cody asked.

"No…"

There was a moment of awkward silence and Harry was ready to turn back around and head to the common room.

"Hey, can you help us with a spell?" TK asked. "Professor Flitwick was going to teach us the disarming one before Professor Sprout came. Do you know it?"

"Expelliarmus?" Harry offered.

"Yeah, that one!" Davis said as if it had been on the tip of his tongue.

"I don't think I'd be a good teacher…"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Ken shouted, swishing and flicking his wand. Davis's wand flew out of his hand and halfway across the room.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!" Davis raced across the room to retrieve his wand. As soon as it was in his hands, he cried, "Ex-peel-arm-us!"

Nothing happened. Davis frowned and looked at his wand. "What did I do wrong?"

"You said it wrong," Harry said. "It's Ex-pel-ee-ar-mus."

"Ah! _Expelliarmus_!" Davis cried and TK's wand went flying.

"Hey!" TK went after his. "What'd I do?"

"You were standing too close to Ken," Kari clarified. "Davis missed."

Davis flushed a little and tried again. Only, Ken said the spell at the same time. Their spells met half-way between them and exploded in sparks.

"Cool!" Davis said.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

Davis leaped to the side and avoided the attack. He jumped right back up. "_Expelliarmus_!"

Ken dodged the attack.

"Kari, help me!" Davis said and Kari ran to his side, sending a disarming charm at Ken.

"Cody, want to help?" Ken asked as he leapt for his wand.

Cody, quite calm and focus, called, "_Expelliarmus_!" and Davis's wand went flying.

"Hey, don't leave me out!" TK jumped on Ken and Cody's side and disarmed Kari just as Davis recovered his wand.

"Harry, help us out!" Davis called. "It's two against three right now!"

Harry wasn't going to, but TK pointed a spell straight at Harry, knocking him back. Purely out of principle, Harry took out his wand and sent one back. According to the unwritten rules of this improvised game, that meant Harry was playing and fair game. If anyone came across this scene without seeing how it started, it would have looked like they were having a fight. The spells were flying everywhere; the kids were ducking behind furniture and scrambling for their wands.

For a while, Harry forgot about Hogsmeade, Dementors, Draco Malfoy, and Sirius Black. He was just a kid trying to knock a wand out of Davis's hand.

"Merlin's beard, what is going on here?!" a squeaky voice called from the door.

The kids ceased fire and tried not to look too guilty as they faced Professor Flitwick. The room had taken hits as well, with desks now tipped over, the teacher's desk spun completely around and supplies all about.

"Harry Potter!" Professor Flitwick gasped. "I suspected such nonsense from those who don't know better, but you have been at Hogwarts –"

"It's not his fault, Sir!" Kari spoke up right in a pleading voice.

"Yeah, we roped him into it," Davis added. "We got him to teach us the disarming charm and then we, uh . . ."

"Got a little enthusiastic about our new knowledge," Ken finished.

Professor Flitwick studied the group and said, "Ten points from Gryffindor. You should know better, Harry. And five points from the rest of you for the same reason." He looked over the room and finally said, "Ten points to every student who learned a new spell from this."

The children had to clean up the room without magical help and by the time they were finished, Harry had just enough time to go back to the common room to wait for Hermione and Ron and to remember his conversation with Professor Lupin.

When Ron and Hermione did return, Harry wasn't that surprised to see Matt with them. He said hi to Harry but left to be with the other Japanese students soon enough, having goodies to give them each. After hearing about their exciting day, Harry told them about his afternoon with Lupin and the Japanese students. Ron and Hermione were naturally more interested in the earlier part of his day, but Hermione was pleased at the latter.

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The Great Hall was decorated wonderfully for Halloween and the feast was wonderful. Matt got to give Ken and Cody their treats but everyone sat at their own table sense no student wanted to miss out on this feast. It ended with the ghosts doing a little show for the students.

Matt, TK, Davis and Kari were heading back to common room as the three second years told Matt about the great practice he missed that day. Matt had a feeling that Davis was stretching the truth a little on how many times he disarmed Ken by the way Kari was shaking her head when he looked away.

As they came to the up to the common room's entrance, Dumbledore blew right past them and walked right through the crowd of Gryffindors who parted to let him pass.

"What's going on?" Kari asked.

Matt, being the tallest of them all, stood on his tip toes and saw to the front of the crowd. "It looks like someone ripped up the Fat Lady's portrait."

"That's horrible!"

"Who would do that to her?" TK asked.

Matt had an idea but couldn't think of how it would be possible, not if he went by all that Hermione told him about this school's defensive. Dumbledore gave out orders to search for the Fat Lady and Peeves appeared.

"You'll be lucky!" he said.

Dumbledore said something too softly for those in the back to catch. But Peeves did something none of the Japanese students ever saw him do during the brief moments they saw him – he actually answered and did not throw something or give a raspberry.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing," he added unconvincingly.

In response to Dumbledore's second question, Peeves answered, "Oh yes, Professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" TK echoed. "That guy who escaped the wizard prison? What's he doing attacking paintings?"

But his questions were not answered as Dumbledore ordered everyone back to the Great Hall in a tone sharp enough to snip any ideas of not obeying him right away. The Gryffindors marched off in a dissembled group and started to formulate their theories. Ten minutes after they were in the Great Hall, all the other students from the other houses came in and added to the bulk.

Dumbledore told everyone to stay in the Great Hall for the night, listen to the Head Boy and Girl, and to send word with one of the ghosts if there were any problems while the professors searched the castle. He set the place up for sleeping and his last words were, "Sleep well."

The Japanese students got their sleeping bags and tried to find a spot where they could all sleep together. Other than hundreds of kids, it was almost like they were back in the Digital World on an adventure. Matt caught Hermione's eye and using body language, asked his friend and he could sleep by her. She waved them over and returned to her chat with Harry and Ron.

"Honestly, am I the _only _person who's ever bothered to read _Hogwarts, A History_?" she said crossly.

"Probably," Ron replied. "Why?"

"Hi, Matt," Harry decided to skip Hermione's mini-lecture.

"Hey," Matt said as he unraveled his sleeping bag. "I heard you got into a disarming battle with my little bro."

"I think I disarmed a few times."

"Not as many times as I disarmed Davis," Ken said. He knew that next weekend Davis will disarm him every chance he got during practice, but this was the best way to make sure that Davis practiced on his own and got better.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The Japanese students slipped down into their sleeping bags but it was a long time before any of them drifted off to sleep. TK was the last one to close his eyes, but was dreaming by two in the morning.

**End Chapter Six: **_**Happy Halloween!**_

In Japanese schools, the students stay in one class all day and it's the teachers who move from classroom to classroom. For the most part, students stay with the same class all throughout their time at a certain school. The classes are chosen by age and skills, so a student can be transferred to another class if they show enough improvement. There usually is one class of delinquents – students who don't care much about school or following the rules – in a school. A lot anime and manga deal with this class simply for the drama and characters.


	8. Blue Dresses, Black Eyes

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Seven: Blue Dresses, Black Eyes

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: Amara and Errowyn

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: I must apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I've been trying to shorten the amount of time between updates, but sometimes life gets in the way, and other times, my muse won't help me out. I swear that's what happened with this chapter. I tried to write it several times, but it was dust in my mouth. Finally, though, on this beautiful Tuesday, I suddenly got a jolt of inspiration – I even ended up writing a scene or two that I had not planned.

Thank you for everyone who has reviewed so far and let me know what you think. Please keep it up. I love reviews!

**Chapter Seven: Blue Dresses, Black Eyes**

The morning came too early, bringing stiff necks and tired eyes with the Head Boy and Head Girl calling for the students to wake up. The Head Girl showed more restraint in her voice, but Percy bellowed like dragon. Just because they stayed up late, doesn't mean they didn't have classes today!

"'Mon, Perce…" George muttered from underneath his sleeping bag.

"Lettus sleep…" Fred finished.

"If you're awake enough to Twin Talk, then you're awake enough to _get up_!"

Percy continued on his personal mission to get everyone up and out of the Great Hall by seven, his head held up high, sticking his chest out as he bellowed. It was a very bold posture, considering that he wouldn't be able to see a quick hand shoot out from a sleeping bag and grab his ankle.

"EVERYONE! Get up and return to – whaa!" he cried with as the same amount of grace he showed as his face hit the floor and his middle landing awkwardly on a very grumpy Ravenclaw. He apologized to the Ravenclaw boy and zipped around as soon as he was on his feet. "Who did that!?"

But most people had their heads buried in their sleeping bags, trying to catch those last few seconds of sleep. Percy huffed and went back to his wake up call – this time watching for any obstacles.

Fred poked his head out of his sleeping bag and whispered, "Good job, Ginny."

Ginny's smile was interrupted by a yawn and the three Weasleys tucked themselves deeper into their sleeping bags.

The Great Hall wasn't cleared out by seven, but no student had a good reason to be late for their first class – even Hagrid, all the way in his hut, claimed he could hear Percy shouting. Most teachers didn't push their students too hard in the first period, being tired themselves.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the new buzz of gossip on how a serial killer got into Hogwarts, or maybe it was the approaching full moon, but something made Draco desire to pick on whoever he could, whenever he could. Of course, he had Harry Potter, who was a bottomless pit of enjoyment. Now, though, there was someone else who in on his radar.

Ken Ichigo, the Ravenclaw, had shot him down so fast that Draco had to make up a scene to write his father, explaining how his attempts at friendship didn't work. It didn't faze Lucius Malfoy to discover that his diplomatic son was thwarted – this Ichigo boy was a foreigner and a Ravenclaw. His son simply didn't have much experience with Ichigo's kind. So Lucius wrote a letter back to his son, explaining what Draco did wrong and how to back peddle and approach Ichigo again – he even gave a tip in using his injured arm as a way to start up a conversation.

Well, those were Lucius's intents. What he really wrote down as a series of scolding and threats. When Draco read the letter, he knew he needed to take another crack at Ichigo. If he succeeds, he'll get his father's approval. If he doesn't succeed, then it's Ichigo's fault for not realizing who he's dealing with. Harry Potter was the same way.

It was lunch time when Draco decided to make his move. Ken and Davis had left early from the Great Hall, heading off to the library. The Slytherin got up a few breaths after them, making it look like he wasn't following them.

"Are you _sure_ it's in the library, Davis?" Ken asked as they went down the hall.

"Yes, it has to be! I don't bring out our potions text book anywhere else."

"And you wonder why you're doing so poorly."

"Hey, it's not me! Professor Snape has it in for me, I just know it! I think he has it in for all of us."

"Why?"

"Because of what happened at the beginning of summer."

"That was Cody and that was an accident."

"But we were _there_. We saw what happened and it embarrassed him like nothing else! I never saw anyone turn that shade of red before."

Draco, who had been trailing the duo and wondering what they were talking about, when he remembered one of his early summer trips to the wizarding communities. He was so surprised at seeing Professor Snape he didn't have time to register in his mind what he had seen. However, now that it was brought up again, he figured out that flash of blue had been a dress. It suddenly made sense. Cody, this Hufflepuff, must have decided to play a prank on Professor Snape.

"That still doesn't prove your theory. I can understand why he comes down on Cody, as much I don't like him to, but we didn't do anything."

"Except laugh at him," Davis smirked.

"You think it's humorous to make fun of one of the finest professors Hogwarts has?" Draco snapped.

Ken and Davis jumped and whipped around to see Draco not ten feet away from them.

"Malfoy," Ken stated. "What are you doing following us?"

"Listening to you bad mouth Professor Snape apparently," Draco pointed his finger accusingly at the two Japanese boys. "You better take back what you said about Professor Snape!"

"Hey, we were having a private conversation," Davis said, half-lamely.

"And why would we take back the truth?" Ken asked.

Draco stomped up to them and ordered, "You will take back what you said! I will make you sorry if you don't."

"No," Ken looked Draco straight in the eyes. "I will not listen to some spoiled rich kid. If you think you can intimidate me, I have news for you. You're nothing –"

Davis didn't hear the rest of Ken's little speech as he moved into action. He saw Draco's fist ball up and knew the signs. Quick as he could, Davis caught Draco's good hand and stopped the punch. What he didn't count on was Draco to use his supposedly injured arm. His hand shot out so fast that both Ken and Davis stood there stunned.

Draco, however, was just getting fired up. With his fake-injured hand, he grabbed a hold of Ken's robes. "You!"

"Draco Malfoy!"

A new voice followed by marching footsteps made Draco's pale complexion turn even paler. From behind him, Professor McGonagall yanked Draco away from the other two. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

Davis, a veteran of such moments, spat out, "Draco punched Ken. I tried to stop him."

"Violence is against school rules, Mr. Malfoy, you know that."

"But –"

"And so is lying!" Professor McGonagall jerked her head towards Draco's "bum" arm. "I believe Headmaster Dumbledore should know about this. Ken, Davis, come with me."

Professor McGonagall marched off, with Draco by the arm and the two other boys hurrying after her. By now, some of the other students, mostly Ravenclaws or those with Deviation next, were leaving the Great Hall to not be late for class. It was extremely embarrassing for Draco, being handled like a little boy in front of his peers. Not that he cared much about Ravenclaws, but they'd talk and it'd back to the other Slytherins.

Professor McGonagall didn't let go of Draco's arm until they were passed the gargoyle, up the spiral stair case, and in the office of the headmaster.

"Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore," the Head Girl was saying as they entered. Percy stood next to her, looking very self-important. "We'll watch out for anything out of the ordinary."

Dumbledore nodded to each of them as thanks and turned his attention to the door, with a professor and three boys near it. "Ah, Professor McGonagall, what a pleasure."

"I'm afraid there's no pleasure in this visit, Headmaster." She pushed Draco forward. "Mr. Malfoy here was caught fighting with Ken and Davis."

Dumbledore raised a confused eyebrow. "I'm sure you could have handled it, Professor McGonagall."

"He punched Ken with his right arm."

"Ah," Dumbledore looked at the Head Girl and Boy, "could you please excuse us?"

"Yes, Headmaster," Percy said and the two slipped past the new comers to the office.

Draco tried to glare at the Weasley, tried to make him understand that if either one spoke of this to anyone, they'd regret it for the rest of their lives. Somehow, he thinks the message was lost.

"Please, come sit down," Dumbledore flicked his wand and three more chairs appeared next to the usual one facing his desk. "Now, before punishments are passed down, I would like to hear the full story. Perhaps Mr. Ichigo would like to explain?"

"Davis and I were heading to the library to find Davis's potions book. On the way, we were talking about how tough Professor Snape was on our friends, and mentioned the incident during the summer, when Cody was trying to find his wand. . ." Ken wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Dumbledore's beard twitch as he tried to hide a smile. "Malfoy heard us and wanted us to take it back. I told him I wouldn't and he tried to threaten me."

"You said I was nothing!" Draco snapped, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. If Ken kept this up, Draco would look like the bad one.

"Nothing compared to what I've faced before," Ken talked over Draco. "I was going to say that I've faced scarier things than you, but you didn't let me finish. Instead, you punched me."

At this point in the explanation, Dumbledore took a good look at Ken's face. His left cheek was puffy and starting to discolor. Seems that Draco had some strength in him.

"Yeah, I tried to stop him, Headmaster," Davis stepped in. "I grabbed his arm to stop it from becoming a fist fight."

"But you didn't grab the other one," Dumbledore noted.

"I didn't think I needed to. From what I've heard, his arm's been busted sense the first week of school. How was I supposed to know he could use it?"

To this, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at Draco, who started to squirm a little. "It got better, obviously!"

"If your arm is healed enough to strike someone, then it's obviously been fine for a long time now," Professor McGonagall remarked.

Now Draco saw his flaw. He should have acted like his arm still hurt. He might have gotten a few detentions, but no one would have questioned it if he just explained it away as losing his cool for spilt second (which he did). He might have even claimed the fight hurt his arm further and he could keep his bandages on longer.

"Lying to such an extreme can get you expelled, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, giving Draco a pointed look. There was a long silence where Draco felt very much like a commend man waiting for the axe to fall. "However, the only reason I can think of for this deceit is for you to skip on homework. Is there another reason?"

Draco shook his head vigorously. "It's like you said – I just wanted to get out of doing some homework."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he shook his head. "The things students will do to avoid a few unpleasant tasks. Very well, sense you meant no other harm, you will not be expelled. However, you will do detentions until you've made up all of the work you've missed, and then two more for fighting with another student. Professor McGonagall, if you wouldn't mind overseeing this matter?"

"Of course not, Professor Dumbledore."

"There you have it. You three may go back to class."

"Wait! What about them!" Draco stood up and pointed to the other two boys, his sling flying wildly behind his arm. "They were disrespectful to Professor Snape!"

"They were merely talking about an incident that happened with one of their friends. I don't believe they said anything disrespectful about Professor Snape." Dumbledore looked at Ken and Davis, who shook their heads no.

Draco glared at the two before storming out. This time, Ken and Davis waited for a spell, not wanting to confront an angry dragon. (Yay for puns!)

Once all of the students left, Professor McGonagall turned to Dumbledore and said, "You do realize what this means for Hagrid?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. I just wish it could be the same for the hippogriff."

"What do you mean? Surely, with this new evidence. . ."

"You know as well as I do that evidence doesn't amount to much when those judging are afraid of someone. It's going to be a sad day for hippogriffs everywhere…" Dumbledore took out a fresh piece of parchment and started writing up a letter.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

The next week was not a happy one for Draco. News about the fight had spread like wildfire and with that came a thousand variations. Sometimes it was just Ken and Draco, sometimes just Davis and Draco. In one version, there was a full out wizard's duel. In another, all three boys ended up wrestling and destroying the hall they were in (or a classroom, with lots of more breakable things). However, in every version, it ended the same way – Professor McGonagall breaking up the fight and Draco getting punished.

It might have been just barely tolerable if that damn Harry Potter and his two lackeys didn't enjoy it so much. Every time he passed the _Golden Boy_, he'd see a smirk on Potter's face. To make matters worse, Marcus was on his case about getting them out of the Quidditch game coming up. The weather wasn't going to be in their favor and they did not want to play Gryffindor so early in the season. With Draco and his 'bad arm,' they had a built in excuse to not play. Now it seems they're doomed, sense Draco obviously couldn't practice before this.

The only redeeming quality about this week was that Professor Snape was laying in extra hard on the other houses. He especially gave Potter, the know-it-all mudblood, the Weasley and Ishida Matt a hard time in class. It was very satisfying for Draco, and his only regret was that their torment didn't last longer.

But even that little silver ray did not get rid of the storm clouds hanging over Draco. His father sent letters – more letters than sweets, it seemed – about Ken and how he was their ticket to get into the Japanese magical community, even if Ken was a mudblood himself. Draco either needed to get on Ken's good side or go after the Hufflepuff (not even Lucius wanted to deal with the Japanese Gryffindors). It was "Ken this" and "Ken that" – Draco was sick of it.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Saturday morning came and Harry Potter wasn't the only nervous one. Draco had tried to pretend to be sick, but Madam Pomfrey was wise to him and sent him away with some chocolate. The rain was harsh and cold, the wind changed directions as many times as a woman changed her mind.

In the locker rooms, his team didn't talk much to Draco, though a few side comments about how he was only on the team because of his daddums were made. Draco tried to draw out who said it, but Marcus shut down all arguments.

"Look, we didn't want to play this match, but we've got no choice. Pointing fingers at the guilty won't change that. We've got to hit them hard and fast. Bole and Derrick, you two go after the Gryffindors like they're first years. Montague, Warrington, and I are going to fly them ragged. Miles, I had better not see a single goal get past you! And Malfoy will catch the Snitch faster than Harry. End it quick, Malfoy, or we might be holding emergency try-outs for a new Seeker."

That was not a suggestion.

But that was not an easy order to follow. Soon after they had kicked off, Draco was soaked, with his extra layer doing nothing for him. The Slytherins got to work right away, driving at the Gryffindors like mad men. They were putting all of their strength into, relying on Draco to end it very soon. But he could barely feel his fingers – how were they expecting to him to catch a tiny ball like this?

It wasn't his captain's threats that motivated him, though. It was seeing Harry Potter circling about him, looking for the Snitch. This was all his fault, Draco decided. And there was no way he was losing this match to the Boy-Who-Faints!

Draco started to really look for the Snitch, darting his eyes across the field for any golden glint to give away the Snitch's position. Harry was circling, too high above what was nearly a brawl to be effect by it and keeping Draco in sight. Draco would have gone higher, but he wouldn't be able to possibly see the Snitch sooner.

After much time of slowly flying in the bitter cold rain, a time out was called by the Gryffindors. The two teams huddled on the opposite sides of the field.

"What's the score?" Draco asked. The wind had blown away most of the announcers … announcements.

"Thirty to fifty, Gryffindors," Marcus growled. "Where's the damn Snitch, Malfoy?"

"Not in Potter's hand!" Draco decided a little play up on his side was in order. "I can barely see as it is, but at least he can't see at all with his glasses covered in rain. It's only a matter of time."

"Get me that Snitch, Malfoy."

"I will."

"You'd better."

"I said, 'I _will_!'"

Madam Hooch's whistle blew again and the time out was over with. Both teams flew back up into the air and the two went at it again. The Slytherins were pressing the Gryffindors again, but after putting so much into the beginning of the match, they were getting sloppy. The Gryffindors were able to get more goals past them and block many goal attempts by the Slytherins. Draco couldn't hear the score, but knew that the Snitch had to be found soon if he was going to stay on the team.

Very close to him, a clap of thunder and bolt of lightening made Draco flinch – the Snitch had to be found soon if he was going to survive this night! But in the sudden burst of light, there was a little sheen of gold. And the best news, Potter Boy was distracted!

Draco put his broom into motion, zooming across the field. This caught the attention of Harry, and he sped after the Slytherin's Seeker. Draco realized that even with his superior broom, Harry was still closing in fast. It could turn into a neck-and-neck race, and Draco was preparing to drive Harry into the ground when he saw something that he thought he'd never be so happy to see.

Dementors. Hundreds of them. All of them on the field and looking up to Harry. Draco went back to concentrating on the Snitch, knowing that the dementors will take care of the pest.

He caught the Snitch swiftly and turned back to gloat. Only Harry wasn't still conscious. He slipped off his broom and fell to the ground, a fifty feet drop. Dumbledore was on the field soon enough, slowing down his precious Golden Boy's fall ("A shame," Draco muttered). Then he turned on the dementors and with a rage no student had seen displayed by the headmaster, Dumbledore blasted a silver light at the dementors, pure and sweeping. The dementors scattered like leafs in the wind, but no one seemed to care about the creatures. Everyone was focused on the fallen Gryffindor.

"Drama witch," Draco huffed.

He went down to his team on the other side of the field of where Harry fell and made sure that Madam Hooch had announced their official victory – Draco did catch the Snitch fare and square. The Slytherins were slipping off for a victory celebration in their common room, doing their best not to show their true pleasure until they were tucked away in the lower levels of the castle.

Draco was getting patted on the back and congratulations from his team mates as they went off the field when Ken came by, floating on a stretcher. He was out cold.

"What's with him?" Miles asked.

A Ravenclaw girl, Marietta Edgecombe, was jogging beside the stretcher. She said, "He fainted, just like Harry, when the dementors came."

Draco went to the Slytherin's common room in higher spirits than he could ever imagine.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Ken woke up with a start.

"Ken! You're awake!" Cody said.

"I am?"

"If not, you're a very convincing sleep walker," Kari joked.

"What happened?" Ken sat up.

"We don't know. We saw you leaving the stadium on a stretcher – the Ravenclaw girl who was sitting next to you said you were suddenly twitching and then you fell over."

"How long was I out?"

"Not even an hour," Matt reassured him. "But we were worried about you. I mean, no one else reacted like that. Other than Harry."

With a gesture from Matt, Ken looked down a few beds and saw Harry surrounded by his own friends and teammates, thought that didn't seem to comfort him too much. Especially when they showed him the remains of his broom.

"Ken, why did you faint?" Davis asked in a low voice, to not be over heard as the Gryffindors clapped Harry on the shoulders and made their way out.

"None of you were affected?" Ken asked.

"We were all affected," TK said. "It was horrible. It felt like all of the happiness was sucked out of the air. I didn't think it could get any colder, but it did."

The looks on everyone else's faces told Ken that he wasn't exaggerating.

"But why did the dementors affect you more than us?" Cody asked with true concern.

"I don't know," Ken looked down.

"All right, that's enough," Madam Pomfrey came by. "Harry and Ken both need their rest now, so you will just have to wait until tomorrow to see them."

"How long will he have to stay here?" Kari asked.

"At least the weekend."

Ken's friends started to file out, but Ken grabbed TK's shoulder, sense he was the last to shuffle away. "Bring me a book, homework, the newspaper, _something_ when you come back."

TK smiled and nodded, glad to see his friend was well enough to be bored. What he didn't catch was Ken's worried look as he put his head back on his pillow.

"Hey, Ken," Harry said when Madam Pomfrey left the room. "Did you faint, because of the dementors?"

Ken swallowed and said without looking at Harry, "Yes. Well, not really. I've been too stressed. The dementors pushed me over the edge. I think."

Harry accepted this reasoning, even if it disappointed him. But Ken was just not ready to talk about what he had experienced.

It had a long time sense he thought of his brother.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Ken spent the weekend in with Harry and Madam Pomfrey, despite his complaints. He was feeling fine, but with Harry dispirited and not arguing for his own freedom, Ken's protests were always stopped by Madam Pomfrey pointing out what a good patient Harry was being.

"She has to let you back out by tomorrow," Cody said as he moved a pawn. Ken's parents had sent it to him after he arrived at Hogwarts, but with all of the studying they did, it got little use. However, on this slow Sunday, with the golden sun light signaling the end of another weekend, Ken found himself on the third match of the day.

"She better. How was charms practice?"

"Good. We went over what we've learned so far. Davis was upset that you weren't there. He really wants a rematch."

"Next weekend, if no dark creatures or escaped convicts get us."

Cody looked up sharply. "Don't talk like that."

"Sorry," Ken moved his knight. "It's just that Hogwarts is starting to feel a lot like . . . well, a lot less safe."

Cody nodded after moving a pawn. Ken took out that pawn with his queen and Cody took out Ken's queen with his knight. "You're distracted, Ken. You don't usually fall for a trap like that."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just can't wait to get out of here. Madam Pomfrey makes this place as lively as an opera preformed by mutes. My sick buddy isn't any help, either." Ken thumbed to the double doors that lead to the bathroom.

"He's taking this kind of hard, isn't he? Hermione told Matt that this is the first time Harry's lost a game."

"You should see him stare at his broken broom," Ken said with pity in his voice. "It's like he lost a digi-partner."

Cody quickly jerked his head around and made sure no one was around. "Ken, I think you should be a bit more careful."

"Relax, Cody, no one's around. I missed Wormmon and the Digital World."

"Me, too."

"Hey, maybe over Christmas we can visit the Digital World. Check."

"That's a great idea!"

"Hey, Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"Checkmate," Ken put his rook in position. Cody scanned the board really quick but had to admit defeat by knocking over his king. "Now who's distracted?"

Harry came back out in time to hear Ken telling Cody that he should go get some dinner before it was too late.

"I can't wait to get back to the general public," Ken said. At first, the two boys didn't talk, sense Harry was sending out 'don't socialize with me' waves. But then Ken got too bored to care, especially after Madam Pomfrey took away his books. Harry wouldn't answer most of them time, but now he was getting really tired of this room. "You play chest, Harry?"

"I play wizard chest."

"Wizard chest? How's that played?"

"The same as normal chest, only the pieces smash each other."

He gathered up his muggle chest pieces and moved to Harry's bed as he said, "Now that's a fun way to play chest. I'll have to see about getting a set. Until then, we'll just have to use this mundane set."

"You assume I'll play."

"Everyone's at dinner and you're as bored as I am."

"Good point. White or black?"

"You can be white, I don't mind being black."

Harry decided to be black. They played the first few moves in silence.

"So, think you're going to get over losing the Quidditch match any time soon?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Ken shrugged. "You're my friend's friend."

It took Harry moment to answer. "Matt calls me his friend?"

"Yeah. He's actually the first of us to make a Hogwarts friend."

"What about Hermione?"

"She's a good tutor, but truthfully, she's way too busy to really get to know better. I don't think she has time to make new friends."

"She's crazy. She already has an over loaded schedule and then she decides to add tutoring to it."

"Ambition isn't craziness. It can just come off that way sometimes."

"I guess a Ravenclaw would say that," Harry gave a small smile.

"Actually, I was speaking as an ex-soccer star and ex-genius."

"What?" Harry nearly dropped his bishop. "You're a soccer star?"

"An ex-soccer star."

"And an ex-genius?"

Ken nodded. "I used to devote all of my time to studying and practicing. I didn't have friends or have fun, and I was a big snob about it, too. It wasn't until I met Davis and everyone that I realized I was trying to be someone I wasn't."

"Why were you doing it, then? You didn't seem to have much fun."

"I wasn't forcing myself for fun. I was doing it for my parents, to make them proud of me. I thought if I slipped up once, they were going to hate me or forget about me."

"What made you decide to become a regular kid again?"

Ken smirked at the choice of words. "Like I said, I met Davis and everyone. They showed me that all of the knowledge in the world and all of the victories meant nothing without people to share it with."

Harry took his eyes off of the chest board. "That was very corny."

Ken shrugged. "It's true, though. Check."

Harry moved his king out of harms way. "So, what? Is this where you say that it's okay to lose once and awhile, that friends are more important, and I should be happy to be who I am?"

"No, this is where I tell you to pay attention to the game. Check, again."

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Monday was a wonderful relief for both Ken and Harry as they got caught back up in classes. Draco, still celebrating the Quidditch victory, was doing dramatic imitations of Harry falling off of his broom. The blonde Slytherin also made sure that everyone knew that Ken fainted by stating it loudly in the Great Hall. Ken really wished he had a smart retort to put Draco in his place.

Ken was just thankful that he didn't have any classes shared with the Slytherins on Monday and he was able to talk with his friends without a certain Madam hovering over them and ending their conversations too soon.

"Never get sick at Hogwarts," Ken had told them the moment he sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

The day past quickly enough for Ken and he found himself heading off to the Ravenclaw dorms before realizing it was so late. The castle was silent and dark. Most of the portraits had dozed off or were making late-night visits to other portraits and all of the students were in their common rooms already.

At first, the castle had spooked Ken at night. There were too many shadows, it was too quiet, and the random noises made from the portraits that were awake would make him jump. It wore off quickly and Ken now enjoys the peaceful walk down hallways.

Just as he was turning a corner, something happened to him to disrupt the passivity of the night.

"_Stupefy_!" a harsh whisper said and Ken fell to the floor, unconscious.

**End Chapter Seven: **_**Blue Dresses, Black Eyes**_

For those of you who don't know: Rooks are the castle pieces for chest, knights are the horses, bishops are the ones that look like they've always got their mouths open, pawns are the little guys, the king the tall one with a crown, and the queen is the shorter one that's always next to the king in the beginning of the game. The goal of chest is to surround the king until he can't make a move. You have to announce when either you've put the king in danger (basically, if the king isn't moved, you'd be able to take him out in the next move) or when you've cornered him. Cornering the king is called checkmate, while putting him in danger is simply called check. I'm not much of a chest player – a genius taught me in middle school and he could think ten steps ahead of me. Checkers is more my speed.


	9. Dementors

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Eight: Dementors

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: No beta reader, doing this one solo. Please keep that in mind.

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: Well, I was away for much longer than I thought I would be. I honestly meant to have this chapter out within two weeks after chapter seven was posted. Obviously, that didn't happen…

But the good new is that there's no direct quoting in this chapter! Yay! Some scenes play out like they're supposed to, but I'm getting away from this being a rehashing of the Harry Potter books.

**Chapter Eight: Dementors**

Ken couldn't understand what his body was telling him. He was on a hard, cold surface, not in between the soft, comfortable sheets of his bed. The air was freezing and stale, not warm and filled with his roommates' snoring. It was such an opposite of what he was supposed to feel that for a brief moment, Ken was sure he was having one of his old nightmares.

But Ken then opened his eyes and realized his nightmares had stayed in the past. The sensations of cold and hardness were because he was laying in on the cold, unforgiving stone floor of dungeons of Hogwarts. He recognized this, even in the complete blackness that he was, simply from the many times he had taken Potions down there. The Potions room itself wasn't so bad, as it was used frequently and had many small fires heating up cauldrons and the room.

With a slight moan, he stood up and nearly sat down as he felt his body protest. No stranger to injury, Ken could feel the bruises on his shins, stomach and arms. These bruises were shallow but there were many and the cold did nothing to help ease the freshness of them. Groping around, Ken was revealed to find his wand still in his pocket. His half-numb hands brought it out and he whispered, "_Lumos_."

The room that he laid in was obviously not used that often, if at all. There were thick, dusty spider webs clumped against the wall, newer ones shining dull silver against the dingy walls with darker smears and drip patterns, many just below or to the side of old chains and shackles, just as dirty and un-kept as the rest of this room. A layer of grime made from condensation, dirt and dust covered the floor (Ken prayed that was it and there were no bats down here to add to it).

_What am I doing here?_ Ken asked, casting his magical light around the room, searching for the door. This room was smaller than he thought and he soon found the thick-wood door by turning to his left.

"Well, now, if it isn't my favorite weakling," a new, harsh and familiar voice pierced Ken's ears.

Ken whipped around and gasped. Standing before him was . . . _him_, as the Digital Emperor.

"How is this possible...?" Ken asked. "This is a dream. It has to be."

"It's no dream; I can assure you of that. You though I was gone for good, didn't you? You thought you could banish me into a corner of your mind and forget about me! I am the Digital Emperor! I am going to rule the Digital World and the human world! Everyone will recognize my rightful place as their master!"

"No, you won't…" Ken whispered. He felt another cold coming over him as he watched his worst fears come to life in front of him. He was sure that if he wasn't paralyzed with panic, he would have dropped his wand.

"You're right, _I_ won't," the Digital Emperor continued, that confident, arrogant smile fixed on his face. "_We_ will, though. We are the same person, after all. It won't be long before you get tired of this goodie-two-shoe act."

"It's-it's not an act…"

"The hell it isn't! You're evil, Ken! Your rightful place is – who are you!?"

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed Ken and yanked him back so hard and fast that Ken found himself stumbling out of the room and to the wall on the other side of the hallway. He barely registered that the hand belonged to Professor Lupin, who shouted, "Ridiculous!" at the Digital Emperor. Ken couldn't see what had happened, but suddenly, there was a balloon whizzing around the room. Before it finished its trip, Professor Lupin had shut the door with a firm slam.

"Ken! Ken, are you all right?" Lupin asked, placing a hand on Ken's shoulder. Ken, who was shaking, looked very frail. His hair was in his pale face; his eyes were huge and fixed on the door. His hand had a white-knuckle, death grip on his wand, like it was the only thing keeping tied to this world. "Ken, it wasn't real."

Ken finally jerked his head up to look at Lupin. "What?"

"It wasn't real. That was a boggart. They're shape-shifters that take on their victim's worst fears."

Ken didn't seem as frightened, but he wasn't completely better, either. "A boggart?"

"Yes."

"You got rid of it, didn't you?"

"Er, no. I just pushed it back with a spell. I need it for something."

Ken felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. The way Professor Lupin was talking about it, boggarts were no big deal. He should have been able to face it but he couldn't even recognize it for what it was! Everyday, Ken was reminded of how little of the magical world he actually knew. But all the times he had to confess to a professor that he didn't know the answer and all the times he had to ask a first year about something that was common knowledge to them didn't sting as badly as this moment right now.

"Ken?" Lupin asked.

"I could've taken it."

"What?"

"The boggart," Ken's voice was becoming stronger with each word. "I could've at the very least driven it off if I had known what it was."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Boggarts are usually taught in your third year."

"And yet I ran into one. Professor Lupin, I need a favor." The bluntness of the request took Professor Lupin by surprised. Ken, glaring daggers at the door, now seemed like he was ready to go back in that room and beat the boggart to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. "I need extra lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Ken, I'm not sure if . . ."

"Please, Professor," Ken looked back up at Lupin, his voice not so sharp. The adult could see the plead in the boy's eyes. "I can't expect an adult to be there every time I run into some dark creature. I barely know about a handful of them as it is – sometimes I feel like I know less than the first years! That summer wasn't enough to cover a years worth."

"Hm, no, it wasn't..." Lupin frowned. This was going to put a strain on his schedule, especially with the lessons he already promised Harry earlier today, but Ken had a determined look. The kind of look that said he was going to learn about dark creatures with or without help . . . and so many things could wrong without help. "Well . . . Very well. I'll give you an extra lesson each week. Tuesday should work out for you, I assume?"

Ken nodded.

"Good. We'll have to start after the holidays, I'm afraid. I've got a bit on my plate as it is."

"Thank you, Professor," Ken bowed automatically. He was just about to ask how to get out of there – although the hallway looked just like the one he takes each time he has Potions, he knew instinctively that this wasn't that one – when a dredged question was asked.

"What were you doing down here, Ken? You're one of the last people I would've pegged as a rule breaker."

Ken felt another wave of fear – less intense – as he realized fully for the first time that he was in the dungeons of Hogwarts, after curfew. The rest of the castle has probably been asleep for hours now; Ken had no way of telling the time at the moment. But then Ken realized something.

"Someone dragged me down here."

Professor Lupin's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

"I was heading back to my dorm room after a tutoring session with Hermione. I was just turning a corner when someone said, 'Stupefy.' The next thing I know, I'm here in the dungeon and –"

"Are you still here?" a new voice asked.

This new voice, though not as frightening as the Digital Emperor, made Ken jump like someone had shocked him. Professor Snape was standing behind them, several large steps away where another hallway was connected. With him was a small, mousy-looking Slytherin with him. Although he wasn't on any scale of intimidating, the boy had a glare of superior irritation at seeing _these_ two.

"And Mr. Ichijouji," Professor Snape's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure what the rules are for you back home, but here, you get punished for being out after hours."

"You're absolutely right, Severus," Lupin jumped in. "Don't worry, I shall see to it that Ken is properly punished."

Professor Snape was going to raise an argument, but the mousy Slytherin was getting fidgety. "Professor Snape, I don't know how much longer the Prefects can handle things."

"Oh? Something wrong in the Slytherin House?" Lupin nearly smiled.

Snape glared at him. "Nothing that _you_ need to worry about." He refocused his glare on Ken. "You remember to stay out of the dungeons and in your dorm. Last thing I need is _another_ Potter."

Professor Snape turned on his heel (something that was rapidly becoming a trademark-move of his) and marched off down the other hallway. It wasn't until the two could barely hear the Head Slytherin and Slytherin boy's footfalls did the other two turn the opposite direction and walked.

"Thank you, Professor Lupin," Ken said again.

"Don't thank me yet. I'm still debating if encountering that boggart was punishment enough for you or not."

"You don't believe me?" Ken nearly shouted, but then realized how unbelievable it sounded. Someone just _happened_ to snatch Ken and stick him down in the dungeons and leave him with no clear reason to kidnapping him. Ken rolled up his sleeve and for once, was happy to see bruises there. He took up his other sleeve and then his pant legs. His arms had bruises in the shape of large fingers grasping tightly to him, while his shins were banged up worse than when he played soccer (including the times he played against Davis). "If I'm lying, then who gave me these?"

Professor Lupin studied the bruises intently and frowned again. "This is serious. Do you know who did it?"

"No, I didn't see . . . but I have an idea," Ken glared back down the hallway, as if his kidnappers were there.

"Well, without proof, it's going to be hard to prove your story."

"That's okay. I'd rather not give _that_ person the satisfaction of thinking his prank worked."

Professor Lupin half-smiled. "You remind me of an old friend of mine. Come, I'll escort you back to the Ravenclaw dorms."

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"Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, please stay behind," Professor McGonagall asked as soon as the bell had rung and everyone was getting up to get to their next class.

The request was odd and the two immediately started asking themselves why. Hermione, though a little frayed, had been keeping up with her studies and Ron couldn't remember if he did anything recently that warranted a talk from a professor. The day was the picture of a cold December Friday, with pale grey skies and everything, even the evergreen trees, looking as if they had never known warmth. The children, tucked safely away in the walls of Hogwarts, were more than willing to spend their free time near fires, playing wizard chess [ha, I spelled it right!] and debating such intellectually stimulating topics, such as which Quidditch team was better and where to go when skiving.

After everyone else had gone off, Ron and Hermione went up to Professor McGonagall who was sitting at her desk. She rearranged some papers and piled them up to her side before speaking. "I understand that you two are getting know Mr. Ishida better."

"Harry is, too," Hermione offered. "All of us usually talk in the common room for a bit."

"Yeah, he isn't too bad when he's talking about Quidditch," Ron said off-handily.

"Yes, well, that's fine, but I've notice that Mr. Ishida only socializes with you three, outside of the other Japanese students. And the other Japanese students, even the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, I'm told, have not made any friends other than with each other."

"In fairness, they were friends before they came here," Hermione spoke up again. Professor McGonagall gave her an inquisitive look. "They're all from the same town, some even from the same apartment building. It's quite amazing, actually, that all of the Japanese students knew each other before coming to Hogwarts."

"Yes, that _is_ quite amazing. But that may also be a problem."

"How can that be a problem, Professor?" Ron asked.

"Foreign students in other schools have trouble making local friends and tend to stick together. Many of the local students don't encourage friendship with the foreign students, and the foreign students see no reason to mingle with them. I do not want that happening at Hogwarts. I know you two are doing your part –" Hermione shot Ron a quick look – "but I wish to ask you to help Matt get to know other Gryffindors."

"You want us to make friends for him?"

"No, Mr. Weasley, I do not expect such things from you. I expect you to help open the door for him. I can only hope that this works and everyone else follows your examples."

Hermione beamed at this, while Ron groaned, "Why'd we have to baby sit him?"

"We can introduce him to some kids at the Leaky Cauldron!"

"Hermione!"

"I think that would be a great idea," Professor McGonagall gave a small smile.

"Professor!"

"Thank you, Professor!"

"You two better get to your next class."

Ron swung around in disgust and marched out of the room. Hermione chose a slower pace and was left in the room alone with Professor McGonagall for a few steps.

"Ms. Granger, how are your studies?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Professor," Hermione turned and was walking backwards with a big toothy grin on her face. "I'm doing just fine!"

"Are you sure? I can always have another student tutor the Japanese students."

"Oh, no, please don't!" Hermione's fake smile suddenly became a frown of genuine concern. "I like tutoring them! I've learned so much about Muggle Japan and they're great tutees."

"If you feel that you keep up the work load…"

"I am!" Hermione hit the door and spun around, flashing her big, toothy grin again. "Thank you for these opportunities, Professor McGonagall!"

"_Thank you for the opportunities_," Ron mimicked in a high-pitch voice. "Seriously, Hermione, why'd you agree to this?"

"Because I happen to think that Professor McGonagall is right," Hermione stated as they started walking down the hall.

"Oh, _there's_ some news! Know-It-All Hermione agreeing with a professor! We should send an owl to _Daily Prophet_!"

"What's your deal Ron? Do you still think Matt's trying to get chummy with Harry? Do I need to remind you of the many times Matt has actually _talked_ with Harry?"

"It's not just that! There's just something about him! He's hiding something, Hermione, I know he is!"

"Oh, please! You're just being paranoid and selfish! Ever think how you'd feel if you were in a foreign country?"

"Why do you always have to trot that out? Even if he was English, I'm sure I wouldn't like him! He's two years older than us and _we're_ his only friends!"

"His only _Hogwarts_ friends. I'm sure he'd hang out with Fred and George more if they weren't always sneaking off to do . . . whatever it is that they do."

"Hah, very funny, Hermione. Next you'll be telling me Matt wants to date Ginny."

Hermione, frustrated with the red head, simply said nothing and picked up her pace. Ron misunderstood this body language and felt his stomach ice over.

"He's not! There's no way Ginny's going to go out with him!" Ron called after her.

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"Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys again," Matt smiled as they walked down path towards Hogsmeade. All three of them were bundled up against the snow and cold like all of the other students were where streaming along the path that took them across Hogwarts' grounds. There were more students than last time, most with the idea of getting their Christmas shopping over with before they went back home for the holidays.

"It's not a problem, Matt," Hermione said in a slightly raised voice to overshadow Ron's remark. "I imagine you're returning home for Christmas?"

"Yeah, we all are. We can't wait to see our families again. This is the longest any of us have been away from them."

"You could always write them, you know," Ron muttered.

Matt looked uneasy for moment. Like everyone else, he had been writing, sending e-mails to his friends and parents. He had to wait until everyone of his roommates were in a deep sleep and then type out his e-mails under his blankets, but he sent messages at least twice a week.

"Uh, it's kind of expensive to send an owl to Japan from here…"

Hermione glared daggers at Ron, but Matt kept talking. "I've got a little money left over from last time, but I want to use it for some gifts. My brother and friends gave me some of their money so we could pool it all together. I'm thinking some wizard candy for our friends back home would be great, but I'm not sure on what to get the parents."

"Oh, you're buying for everyone's parents?" Hermione asked pleasantly.

"Yeah, just something small," Matt pulled out a piece of parchment with his friends' notes on their parents' likes and dislikes.

"Hey, how can you read?" Ron suddenly asked. Hermione and Matt stared at him, so he continued. "I mean, how can you read English? Don't you have a potion or something to make you talk English?"

"Oh, it's the same potion," Matt answered. "I was worried about reading, too, but apparently its name, Speech Potion, is misleading."

"So you can understand any language, written or spoken? I wonder which year we'll learn that potion."

"It's not something taught in school. You'll need to become a Potion Master, like Professor Snape," Hermione piped in and popped Ron's bubble. "It's extremely complicated and not even all of the Potion Masters can accomplish it."

The three of them made their way to Hogsmeade and decided to hit Gladrags Wizardwear first, sense the candy and joke shop were packed already. It seemed to be a strange request from Matt, until he explained about one of his friends.

"Mimi is very much into fashion. I think she'd be really interested in what magical people are wearing." It took them a while of Matt glancing over racks and shelves of neatly organized clothes. At one point, Ron tossed a shirt back onto a shelf without folding it back up. The shirt folded itself up and went to its proper place.

"Oh, this looks like something she'd wear. Who're the Wicked Sisters?"

"One of the best witch bands out there," Ron answered, slightly smug. "I hear them all the time on the radio when I'm home."

"Really? How –?"

"Magical radios," Hermione cut in.

"Of course," Matt smirked. He held up the shirt and eyed it with a frown. "It _looks_ like it'll fit her. Well, it's the thought that counts, right?"

And with no more thought on the gift, Matt paid for the shirt and they left the shop. They went to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and only Ron was bored out of his mind. Matt was on the hunt for a gift for Izzy and Yolei ("It's the closest thing to a computer around here.") and Hermione was simply browsing. At the end of exploring that store, they took a peak over at Zonko's Joke Shop and found it still packed.

"You know, I have a feeling that the crowds aren't going to dwindle this time," Matt observed right after Hermione made the suggestion to check out the post office again and Ron moaned. "We might as well brave them, huh?"

"That's the best thing you've said all morning!" Ron said over his shoulder, already making his way down the street.

"Is it just me, or does the cold weather make him more impatient?" Matt grinned at Hermione. Despite the fact that they're wrapped in their school's winter clothing, it was still very cold for them.

The tour through Zonko's shop was rather quick, and they soon made it to the real reason why they were at Hogsmeade – the wonderful candy shop. Matt already knew that most of his presents were going to be bought here. Ron, Hermione, and he took their time and looked over every item in the shop – Matt had a feeling that by the time he left Hogwarts, he would have Honeyduke's entire inventory memorized. It was in here that Ron and Hermione were looking for new treats to bring to Harry and were trying to remember if they bought this one or that one for him or if he had shown a particular like to a certain kind of chocolate.

Naturally, this led them to the corner of Unusual Tastes.

"Pickled Worms?" Matt read a label. "Like, gummy worms?" He picked up a jar and looked more closely. "No, real worms. Hey, does Harry like worms?"

"No," Hermione wrinkled her nose.

"How about these?" Ron shoved a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.

"Definitely not."

Two wizards and a witch nearly jumped out of their robes.

"_Harry_!" Hermione squealed. "What are you doing here? How – how did you –?"

"Wow!" Ron said, improvingly. "You've learned to Apparate!"

"'Course I haven't," Harry smirked. In a low whisper, he told them about the gift he got from Fred and George. Ron, naturally, wanted to know why his brothers had given Harry the map and never told him about it. That concern was put to the side when Hermione suggested that Harry should give the map to Professor McGonagall.

"No, I'm not!" Harry asked.

"Are you mad?" Ron asked.

"Why would he do that?" Matt asked.

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!"

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

Matt almost voiced an agreement with Hermione, but got over taken with Harry's rationalization. Still, it bothered Matt. His knowledge of Hogwarts was little to nothing, so the fact that it had secret tunnels weren't all that shocking (it _is_ a castle, after all). What got to him was Hermione's point and the idea that Sirius Black could be using one of the tunnels did not seem that far-fetched.

"Are you going to report me?" Harry grinned.

"Of course not!" Hermione gasped.

Harry turned to Matt. "What about you?"

Matt shook his head. "No way."

"But, honestly, Harry –"

Ron spun Harry around and pointed out candies in a mad rush, afraid of Hermione getting on his friend's case again. However, Hermione resigned to being outnumbered by boys and idiots, so she followed along.

They spent a long time in the sweet shop, Matt buying more than any of them for his Christmas presents. The place was so crowded with excited students that no one noticed that Harry Potter was among them.

Once they were out in the snow, Hermione was in better spirits, clearly enjoying the time with Harry. Both all three listed places to visit, but it was Ron who made the best suggestion: the Three Broomsticks.

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Matt sat the closest to the train's window. The six Japanese students were currently on the International Train System, heading back to Japan to spend the holidays with their family and friends. The day at Hogwarts had been frosty cold, but they entered different climates as they traveled along at unbelievable speeds.

"Is something wrong, Matt?" Kari asked. She sat on the floor, in between the legs of Davis, who sat next to Ken, who sat in the middle with Cody on his other side. Next to Matt sat TK and next to TK sat Davis's owl, Aki. Before Kari had spoke up, Davis had been trying to figure out how he could use Aki to annoy his sister.

They had gotten a smaller compartment than the one they had shared with Mr. Weasley, Percy, Fred, and George, so it was slightly crowded with all six of them in there. But that's what they wanted, so they could talk freely about anything wanted. Although it had proven easy to keep a secret that no one knew about, it still weighed on the otherwise honest children. Every now and then, the professors seemed to ask them a strange question, like they were trying to get more information out of the kids but were unsure there was information to gather.

"I'm worried about Harry," Matt admitted.

"Harry Potter? Something up with him?" Ken asked.

"Yesterday, he over heard something at the Three Broomsticks –"

"Hold up," Davis piped up. "The Three Broomsticks is in Hogsmeade. I thought he couldn't go."

"He can't, officially, but unofficially…"

Matt told them about the Invisibility Cloak and Marauders' Map and then all about how Sirius Black had been Harry's parent's best friend and then turned traitor and had given away the Potter's location. Afterwards, when Harry proved to be too much for Voldemort, Sirius went on a murderous rampage, killed twelve innocents and Peter Pettigrew, who had been driven by grief and despair to confront Sirius.

"After we found out about this, Harry just seemed to withdraw into himself. Hermione, Ron, and I tried to talk to him, but I don't think he heard any of us. He didn't acknowledge that we, or anyone, existed at all."

"That's a lot to take in at once," TK noted. "And to hear unexpectedly like that…"

"Yeah. And that's what worries me. Sirius Black is out there, trying to get to Harry. Now Harry has a reason to go after Sirius Black."

"You don't think he'd actually try to go after a murder, do you?" Cody asked.

"He was given a map that could potentially lead him into danger and he didn't even think turning it into the professors was a rational option. If given the chance, of course he will go after Black."

"Should we have left him there?" Kari asked. "What if he tries to find Sirius over the holiday?"

"Ron and Hermione are staying with him," Matt pointed out. "They'll keep him distracted."

"He won't go looking for Black without knowing where he is," Ken spoke up. He had a troubled look on his face, but he kept reassuring them. "I'm sure that if Black were to reveal himself, Harry would go after him. But, as it is, Black wants to stay in the shadows and Harry doesn't know which shadow to strike."

"Ken, are _you_ alright?" TK asked. "You seem . . . distracted."

Ken didn't look at them or answer TK. He never talked about this with anyone, not even his parents. But Ken had to remind himself that these were his fellow digidestines. The same kids who accepted him after he laid a path of cruelty and destruction in the Digital World.

"I heard Sam," Ken whispered.

The other children looked at Ken with confusion and alarm.

"When the dementors came to the Quidditch match, I felt cold."

"We all did, Ken," Kari reassured him.

"But that's not all. I felt like I was falling into darkness and suddenly, there's Sam voice. He was calling for me and then – then tires screamed."

The children realized he was talking about the day Ken's brother died. Ken had lowered his further, letting his hair act like a current over his face, and death gripped the seat to stop his shoulders shaking.

"I thought I was over it."

"Ken, it's hard to lose a loved one," Kari said. She didn't elaborate on it, merely detached his hand from the cushion and held it.

Davis, on the other side of Ken, placed a hand on his shoulder. Everyone was silent out of respect for Sam and Ken. When some of the tension went out of Ken, he excused himself to the bathroom and came back after ten minutes. Although it was clear that Ken didn't want to talk about it any more, they weren't sure on how to switch topics without coming off as indifferent.

Thankfully, the snack cart rolled up and they all got a little something. They then talked about the candies, their favorite flavors, how outrageous some of the wizard treats were, and Matt informed of what he got for their friends back home. The conversation started off superficial, but with Matt and Ken unburdened, it soon progressed back into what they're use to.

However, the conversation didn't remain light all of the time. About an hour later, after they had changed seats a few times to play games with each other, Kari spoke up with insight that she was famous among her friends for.

"I think Hogwarts is going to turn out to be more than a school. I think we're in for more adventures."

**End Chapter Eight: **_**Dementors**_

Notice: Although the digidestine will be returning to Japan for the break, don't worry: I'll still be using their English names. My original intent was to have them use their Japanese names while they're in Japan or speaking with someone from Japan. However, sense starting this fic, I remembered how many people really don't know the Japanese names by heart or at all. The Japanese names served the purpose and now we shall pretend they never existed. Shh!


	10. The Merry Interlude

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Nine: The Merry Interlude

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: No beta reader, doing this one solo. Please keep that in mind.

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: This being an interlude and all, I figured I'd try something different. Each new scene won't automatically be connected to the other. It's more like snippets of their vacation, the best or most telling moments.

And it's been a while sense I've brushed up on some of these characters, so if they seem a little OOC, I'm sorry. I would take the time to hunt episodes with them in there, but my muse is actually here today! And it looks like she and me are going to be getting another chapter out after this one!

**Chapter Nine: The Merry Interlude**

"Yolei, come on, we don't want to be late!" Poromon bounced on his digi-partner's bed.

Yolei was currently half buried under her bed, hearing more of the squeaking and thumping caused by the in-training version of Hawkmon. She was shuffling her items among the dust, rearranging things to her liking.

"I'm almost done, Poromon."

"Why do you want to hide that stuff anyway?"

"Because it's a secret," Yolei said as she finally shoved the last thing in place to cover up her small stash. She reemerged from her bed and grinned at her digi-partner. "It's going to be a surprise."

"Do you think it's going to work?" Poromon asked. Yolei was sure that if his head hadn't been his entire body, he would have cocked it to the side.

"Of course it's going to work! We're near a break-through, I can feel it!" Yolei stood up with a big grin on her face, a gleam in her eyes. "Once I unlock my magical powers, I'll be able to join my friends at Hogwarts!"

"And leave me behind…" Poromon looked down, rather pitifully.

Yolei nearly choked on her words. The last thing she wanted to do was leave behind Poromon, who had always been by her side, even more so as she went a little magic-crazy over the last few months. At first, she had tried to go about her daily life as usual, but with every hour that past, she thought about how cool it'd be to be at a magical school. She thought about all of the things her friends would be able to do, how she'd feel like the odd one out even if they would never suggest a thing, and how much she's missing out. It didn't take too long for her start making good the promise she made to her sister on the day her friends left for Hogwarts. She was going to find her magic powers, she knew she had magic powers, she just had to! Fate didn't bring all of them together just to leave her out of some of the adventures.

But figuring out how to unlock her powers was another thing. First, she searched the internet, trying to sniff out information about real magic among the thousands of pages of false leads. From what her friends told her about magic, it's kept with a pretty tight lid on it. But even tight lids can leak every now and then. She couldn't imagine in the Age of Information and Technology that _all_ muggles would be _completely_ in the dark. Muggle-born witches and wizards had families who knew about the magical side of the world. Maybe some of those witches and wizards also confided in some muggle friends about their abilities. Maybe some of those witches or wizards or family and friends of the magical people made a book or two of magic available to the non-magical.

It was a long shot, Yolei knew, but it was her only shot. She looked at many E-books, personal websites, and forums, all claiming to be real magic. Based off what her friends told her, none of these sites came within spitting distance of what she needed.

Her search soon led her to believe that technology couldn't be relied on. After all, the magical world did without electricity and such, so it would stand to reason that they did things old school. This meant for Yolei that she was off to the bookstores. Naturally, the big chain book stores wouldn't carry what she was looking for, so she got to hunt down all of the second-hand book stores she could find. Many of them were tiny and carried battered versions of the same books that big bookstores carried in much better condition, but the promise was there. Every now and then, Yolei would find truly old, non-mainstream books that seemed to say to Yolei, "Hey, if we're here, surely you can find what you're looking for."

So far, she has only found a handful of books, but as her life is a busy one of school, work, and hanging out with her siblings and friends, she has had little time to study these books. It might go faster if she simply asked her friends for advice. On the other hand, it'd so great to see their excited, surprised faces when she shows them that Hogwarts letter!

"All right, let's go, Poromon!" Yolei held out her arms.

Poromon jumped into her arms and the two ran out of the house with big smiles on their faces.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Davis, once home, set down Aki's cage on the counter. The young Great Horned Owl had dark brown, terracotta and white feathers that laid themselves in such away to make a granite pattern, each color flowing into each other, overlapping, and sprinkling their selves all on the back and wings. Aki's chest was covered in pure white feathers that quickly narrowed into a line down his body. His yellow eyes were large and curious.

"Ew, you're not seriously going to release that thing in the house, are you?" Jun wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Of course I am!" Davis retorted, "And _he_ is called _Aki_, not 'that thing.' Aki needs plenty of exercise."

"I'll teach him to jump rope!" DemiVeemon said from the couch, as he bounced on it. He was so excited to have Davis home! They were going have fun playing games, hanging out, wrestling, goofing off, and eating!

"Couldn't you just set him free outside?"

"I want him to get use to his new surrounds first, so he'll understand this is where he's going to live for the time being."

"Mom and Dad will be mad if you let that bird poop on the furniture or if he breaks anything."

"He won't. Will you, Aki?" Davis unlatched the door of the bird cage.

Aki cocked his head to the side, hooted uncertainly. Then he made an aggressive "krrooo-oo" and flew at Davis!

Davis ducked and Aki flew right back around and dived for Davis again, who had ran over to the couch for protection. Jun went to the hallway and was ready to lock herself in the bathroom the moment that feathered rodent went after her. Reaching out with his claws, Aki caught nothing but pillow as Davis tried to defend himself.

"Aki! What are you doing? Stop that! Stop!" Davis cried.

"I can't believe you brought a mad owl into the house!" Jun shrieked.

"He wasn't like this the last time I saw him!"

"The _last time_ – Wait. What do you mean, 'the last time'?"

This time, as Aki dived again, Davis decided the coffee table was perfect coverage. He deflected the attack and then crawled under the low table.

"Well, when I put him in the Owlery, he wasn't like this at all."

Jun blinked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Shouting over Aki's screams, she asked, "Are you telling me that you haven't even _visited_ Aki sense the beginning of the school year?"

"Um . . . I got him at the beginning of summer." The words would've been lost if Aki hadn't stopped shrieking at that very moment.

"Davis Motomiya, you little – augh! Aki!" Jun's voice snapped like a whip. The owl's head snapped to her and he landed on a chair. Jun's features relaxed and she said sweetly, "You're just lonely, aren't you? That wasn't fair of Davis to leave you all alone."

Aki gave a deep hoot of agreement and Jun took that to mean it was okay to approach the bird. Although Jun had never actually petted an owl or any bird before, she figured they wouldn't want to be petted like a dog, and so she stroked the back of his head like a cats, one direction, not messing up his feathers. Aki closed his eyes in enjoyment and tilted his head closer to Jun, who's heart melted.

Davis huffed under the coffee table. "It's not like I did it on purpose. I've been so busy trying to keep up with my school work…"

"You're always struggling in school," Jun pointed out, "but you've always made time for Veemon, your friends, and the Digital World. You're telling me that you couldn't spend some time with Aki each week?"

"Sense when did you become an owl expert?"

"I'm not, but his behavior isn't because he likes you. He is mad at you right now, it's so obvious. I'm surprised you hang out with Matt so much and are still so dense! He would know how to treat Aki with love and care."

Davis grinned wickedly. "It was actually his idea that I leave Aki in the Owlery."

"Do you hear that, Aki? That's the noise the desperately hopeless make."

Jun turned around and went into the kitchen to get some food for Aki. Basing off of what she knew from media, she figured some meat and water would be good. Davis made to get out from under the coffee table, but one sharp look from Aki kept Davis in his little shelter.

DemiVeemon joined Davis under the table. "I can Pop Attack him."

"No, no, that's okay," Davis smiled at his ever loyal digi-partner. "I've got to find a way to make this up to Aki. But, hey, do you think you can Pop Attack Jun?"

"You got it!" DemiVeemon dashed out from under the coffee table, flung himself at Jun, who had come back with the snack for Aki, and shouted, "Pop Attack!"

Jun cried in surprised, jumped to the right, and DemiVeemon went flying past her, hitting the wall instead. Jun glared at Davis and Davis gripped the coffee table legs, knowing that the furniture only protected him from owls. Nothing short of Imperialdramon could protect him from an enraged older sister.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Just like the human world, the Digital World was blanketed in sparkling snow. Only, there was much more sparkle and undisturbed snow here. The Digital World was just as vast as the human world, but it held a lesser amount of cities and towns and roadways. Many of the cities and towns also didn't seem to pollute as much or take up nature as the human cities did. This lead to there being fields upon fields of snow for certain young digi-destines and their digi-partners to play in.

It was the second day back from Hogwarts and after spending time catching up with their families, the witches and wizards wasted no time in reconnecting with their "muggle" friends. (They had other things planned with their families, but they couldn't wait any longer to be completely surrounded by friendly, known faces around their age.)

"It's weird to use that terminology," Kari noted to Sora, who was pressing her for information on what Hogwarts was like. "I know that I am a witch, but every time I look in the mirror, I see Kari, a digi-destine, not Kari, a magical person."

"Well, you've been a digi-destine sense you were little. I remember when you used to wear a whistle and idolized Tai."

Kari smiled. "Yeah, those were good times. Even when we were being chased by digimon."

"I disagree," Biyomon spoke up as she patted some snow into place with her wing. "I preferred it when the other digimon _weren't_ chasing us."

Kari stepped back from their snow sculpture. "Do you think it looks like Frigimon, Gatomon?"

"Yeah, I think it does. It'll look better when we put in the eyes and buttons."

"HEADS UP!"

Kari suddenly felt something cold and sharp against her head. Wiping the destroyed snowball from her hair, she saw her big brother, Tai, running for cover and laughing.

"I used to idolize that?" It was hard for Kari form a proper scowl. Instead, it turned into a fierce grin like she was gearing herself up for a rough game of soccer. As she spoke, she and Sora were scooping up snow for a return attack.

As Tai was chased by Sora, Biyomon, Kari and Gatomon, Matt sat in the snow a little further away, watching the happy scene. Soon Izzy and Joe sat on either side of him, and started up a strange conversation.

"So, Tai told you?" Izzy asked.

"Told me what?" Matt replied.

Izzy and Joe looked at Matt curiously and then with guilt, like they had just opened a gift that wasn't meant for them by mistake.

"Maybe we should let him tell you," Joe pushed his glasses up a little, seeming a little nervous. "He said the news would be easier to hear from him."

"But now I'm curious. You can't leave me hanging."

Izzy took up the challenge. "Well, um, you see, your band, the Teenage Wolves, they found a new lead singer."

"Oh…"

Izzy and Joe looked nervously at each other. They figured Tai would've told Matt right away, but apparently he was waiting for the right moment. The other band members of Teenage Wolves had been so hurt by Matt suddenly disappearing to Europe to go to a fancy school that they swore off all contact with him and his friends. If it hadn't been for the flyers a few months ago, no one would have known.

"Well, good for them," Matt suddenly brightened up.

"What? Are you sure?" Joe asked.

"Yeah. We know you're the one who left them, but even I wasn't thrilled when my old computer club had found a new president," Izzy pointed out.

"I'm not going to send him flowers or anything, but it's good that the band is able to continue with their dreams."

"We're sorry for blurting this out," Joe said. "We thought Tai told you earlier and you were sitting here, alone . . ."

"Oh, no, I was just taking a quick break," Matt gestured over to Gabumon who was playing with the other digimon and humans. The digimon seemed to be full of boundless energy as they frolicked in the snow and had their own snowball fights. Among them were Cody, Ken, Yolei, Mimi, TK, and Davis, laughing and teasing.

"You're taking this pretty well," Izzy noted.

"Hey, you know me, I'm nothing but cool," Matt smirked.

At that moment, a snowball found its way to Matt's face and gave him a big ol' hug!

Matt wiped the snow from his face and shouted, "You're going down, Tai!"

"Nothing but cool," Joe repeated, rolling his eyes as he watched Matt join the chase for Tai.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Ken laid on his bed, holding the picture of Sam and studying it. Ken hated how they fought when they were younger, when they were both alive. Actually, there wasn't so much fighting as there was Ken being ignored and resenting Sam for getting all of the attention. Sam was a great brother, when he wasn't full of himself, but Ken barely remembered that Sam. All the same, Ken loved and looked up to Sam.

"Ken?" Wormmon asked. "Ken, you know your parents are waiting to start dinner with you."

"I know, Wormmon," Ken put a reassuring hand on his friend.

"I want to go with you to Hogwarts," he blurted out. Ken finally tore his eyes away from Sam and looked at Wormmon. "I miss you, Ken, and I don't like how that place effects you."

Ken blinked, touched by those words. A warm smile spread across his face and he hugged Wormmon. "I miss you, too, Wormmon. I wish you could come with me."

"Maybe I could pretend to be a toy?"

"I share a room with four other boys. The only times you'd be able to be yourself would be when we're all at class or asleep."

"That wouldn't be fun…"

"Hey, don't worry. Time will fly by and before you know it, I'll be home for the summer."

"And that'll fly by all too fast."

The words nearly whispered nearly broke Ken's heart. Thankfully, his mother's voice floated through the door and reminded them that dinner was waiting.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Tai and Sora sat across from each other at a fancy restaurant that was crowded with other couples. Christmas Eve in Japan was a bit of a couple's holiday, and so it was very romantic to go out and eat a nice dinner with your loved one. In many ways, it was like the American version of Valentine's Day, only without trading sappy love cards.

The two, like all of the other couples, stared lovingly into each other's eyes. Tai had remembered a time when this sort of thing would have made him nervous. In fact, it'd probably still make him nervous and uncomfortable if it weren't Sora that he was staring at and being stared back at.

"What are you thinking?" Sora asked, leaning forward a little bit.

"Just admiring your beauty."

Sora smiled warmly. "Nice one, Casanova."

"I thought girls like that sort of thing."

"What sort of thing?"

"The truth."

Sora blushed and picked a little at her food, as if she were thinking about eating one more bite. Instead, she reached in her purse and pulled out a small box that had been wrapped up in pretty Christmas wrapping paper. She handed it to Tai with a wink.

Tai opened the gift and found two tickets to a soccer game with his favorite team. Instead of saying thank you or I love you or wow, I can't believe you got these, Tai laughed.

"What's so funny?" Sora asked, unsure if she should be offended or simply confused. "I got those so we could make a date out of it."

Tai didn't reply, merely gave her his gift. Sora opened the Christmas envelope and found two tickets to the same game.

A smirk came over Sora. "Which ones should we scalp?"

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Cody practiced kendo with his grandfather . . . and found himself getting clobbered over and over. Finally, his grandfather stopped the torture and looked sternly down at his grandson.

"You haven't been practicing."

"No, Grandfather."

"I had expected more from you."

"Yes, Grandfather."

"Don't you like kendo anymore?"

"I do like kendo!"

"Then why haven't you been practicing?"

Cody stuttered, trying to find an answer.

His grandfather chortled heartedly. "I'm just teasing you, Cody. I know you've been busy."

"I still should have practiced," Cody mumbled.

"And I should have a prune juice," the grandfather took off his gear and sat down on the mat. Cody joined him and the two sipped on packages of prune juices.

"Your father would be proud of you," the grandfather said after a time. When Cody looked up at him, questioningly, he continued, "Going off to a new place, learning and experiencing new things. Your father would call you brave."

"I'm not all that brave…" Cody muttered modestly.

"Nonsense! Any boy who's willing to be beaten thirteen times by his grandfather is brave!"

"It was twelve," Cody corrected and sipped on his prune juice, pretending not to see the amused smile of his grandfather.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

It was January first, the last full day of the holiday. Tomorrow, the kids would get on an International Train and arrive back at Hogwarts along with the rest of the students. This was a little snag for the Japanese students, sense their New Years started on January first and ended on January third. Classes started on the third and they couldn't expect the school to hold off teaching for one day just for them and they couldn't afford miss a single class. As it was, the parents of all of the Japanese Hogwarts students decided to cram in all of the activities that they could in the first day of the New Year. They stayed up the whole night, visiting a temple just after December 31 became a new day. Then they stayed up until the sunrise, eating traditional foods and playing traditional games. After they saw the first sunrise, everyone went to bed, exhausted from the condensed version of the New Years.

Before all the celebrations, though, for the past two weeks, Davis had been trying everything to get back on Aki's good side. He bought Aki a bigger cage, cleaned it twice everyday, used bottled water, bought him little mouse toys (okay, so they were for cats, but Aki didn't need to know that), and tried just about everything he could think of.

However, Aki was bent on holding a grudge and showing that grudge off. He let everyone else – Jun, his parents, even Veemon! – pet and play with him. But when Davis was in the room, Aki turned his beak up and pretended the boy wasn't there.

With time running out, Davis tried one last thing.

Aki was perched on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, his head buried as he cleaned his feathers. Aki had just woken up from his day sleep and was reading for his nocturnal flight. Thinking that he was alone, it surprised Aki to hear a small clink.

Looking to the right of him, towards the living room, there was a small plate of cut-up meat. A finger pushed it closer and closer to Aki, as if uncertain that the finger would remain attached to the hand. At the edge of the counter, a spiky bush of brown hair with a pair of goggles stared at Aki.

Slowly, the brown bush rose and Davis's eyes came into view. When Aki didn't ruffle his feathers, Davis took this as a good sign and exposed the rest of his, rest his chin on the counter top.

Aki stared at Davis and pretended to not notice the food, just like he did every time Davis tried to feed him.

Davis begged, "_Pleeeeeeeease_? I'm sorry!"

Aki finally looked down at his food and ate.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

It was the last day of their holiday break and to all of the departing children joined their friends and family in a park close by to the train station. They had decided this would be better than having everyone say goodbye in a smelly alleyway, with people walking by, wondering _why_ there was a large group of people saying goodbye in a smelly alleyway.

Each parent hugged their child, gave words of encouragement and warned them to stay healthy. More than one digimon tried to sneak away in their partner's backpacks – the worst attempt was DemiVeemon when he tried to pretend to be Aki. It might've worked, sense the cage was covered, but Aki had woken up and ratted him out. TK, Matt, Cody, Ken, Davis and Kari made sure to give their digimon extra hugs and promised to write as often as they could.

Mimi showed up and surprised everyone by not wearing a jacket. She was shivering and trying to smile through chattering teeth. Her shirt wasn't of her usual bright and cheery colors, but was the black Wicked Sisters shirt Matt had bought in Hogsmeade.

"Mimi, what are you doing?" Matt asked as he held her to help her keep warm.

"I-I-I wanted you to see me wearing it!" Mimi clattered through her teeth.

"You could've just taken your jacket off for a few seconds," Ken pointed out.

"Or showed us when we were inside," Cody added.

"Or sent us a picture," Kari finished.

TK and Matt's father came over and gave Mimi his overcoat, who took it gracelessly.

"But you guys bought me this awesome shirt! I wanted to show it off."

"It looks good on you," TK noted. He had been standing a little bit away, talking with his dad, but had seen the scene unfold. "I just hope you don't get sick because of this."

"Are you kidding? I'm tough!"

That comment made everyone laugh, even Mimi.

The witches and wizards of the group finally said their last round of goodbyes and headed off to the train station. They wished their time with their families and friends hadn't ended so soon, and they weren't looking forward to going back to studying like crazy, but the children surprised themselves by really looking forward to going back to Hogwarts.

**End Chapter Nine: **_**The Merry Interlude**_

I know Great Horned Owls are native to America, not Britain or Japan, but hey, horses weren't native to America and yet here they are. The one I based Aki off of is a picture on the next, called Great Horned Owl, Missouri. I tried putting the link in here, but it wouldn't do the whole link, just the later half, so sorry but if you want a picture of Aki, you'll have to search for him yourself. Keep in mind that Aki isn't fully grown, so the horn feathers aren't as big and he's not as tall. Also, according to Baby Names (.com), Aki means Sky. ^_^


	11. The Beginning of New Ties

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Ten: The Beginning of New Ties

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: No beta reader, doing this one solo. Please keep that in mind.

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: WOO! Three chapters in two weeks! Yeah, baby! This is a good sign and a new record! This just might meant I'm actually breaking out of my months on end habit of not updating. Seriously, I did the math. Chapter 4 and 5, according to the first review on them, were put up more than a year after the pervious chapter. Eesh!

With any luck, this "updating more" trend will continue. I can't promise that it'll be three chapters every two weeks – or even two chapters every two weeks – but I definitely won't wait months upon months to get something up. You know, assuming that life doesn't throw me a curve ball or anything…

**Chapter Ten: The Beginning of New Ties**

"Man, I don't see why we have to do this," Davis sighed heavily, as if he held the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"It's something we need to do," TK answered.

"No, it's just something she _wants_ us to do. We don't really have to be here. I know I'll forgive myself for just walking away this time."

"Davis Motomiya," a chilling cold voice said from behind him, making both Davis and TK stand rigid. "I hope you're not planning to skive on your first tutoring session of the new semester."

Davis turned his head very slowly, as if caught in a horror movie and afraid that he'd end up seeing the killer standing behind him. He was half-relieved to see that Hermione wasn't holding an axe. But only half-relieved. She still had her big bag of way too many books. More had been added to her collection, apparently, for she cradled some in her arms like infants.

The winter break hadn't been good to her, it seemed. Though she still held an air of superior knowledge about her, she seemed more frazzled and even more distracted. Davis had expected the usual lecture on why these tutoring sessions (which worked more like focus study groups) were so important to someone who essentially skipped a year – two years in Matt's case – when they weren't ready to do so. The only person who had the right to skip the tutoring sessions was Cody, but he chooses to stay and further his education, as Hermione saw it. In truth, Cody liked the idea of hanging out with only his friends three times a week, even if they were just working on homework.

However, Hermione merely walked past Davis and TK and set down her books on the table. She pulled out her own homework, a pile much thicker than theirs, and asked if they needed help with getting started on theirs. It was the well established routine of the tutoring sessions. Hermione got them started by pointing them in the right direction if they couldn't figure it out on their own. Then they would do most of the work on their own and she'd go over it and point out if they made a mistake anywhere. The tutees would have to figure out what they did wrong, sometimes getting the answers from their friends.

Every now and then, the group (or some of them) would finish all of their homework before the time was up. Instead of letting them go early, Hermione had them quiz each other on facts that would likely appear on tests. Not a favored strategy by most of the tutees, it nonetheless yielded results as they saw their test scores climb steadily and slowly higher along with their comprehension. Though Hermione spent most of the time with her nose buried in her own homework, she determined to see that the Japanese students were up to speed by the end of the year.

Sense this was the first session of the new semester and the only homework the Japanese students had were what they got today, they did a group effort and got it done faster than ever before. Hermione gave them the task of reviewing the newest material and going back over their first semester's notes.

As for Hermione, she poured herself over books and more books, taking notes on anything of interest to her. Many times she forgot about the rest of the library. The Japanese kid's voices faded into the background and soon she couldn't hear them at all. Their movements were less and less distracting as it seemed darkness fell over the room. It circled around Hermione, stifling her perception to the task at hand, to the book and paper in front of her. Without realizing it, Hermione had become so intent on her work that she had pushed out the rest of the world.

"What're you working on?" Matt asked over her shoulder.

Hermione flinched hard, the world snapping back to life. She felt deaf for a moment, until the small noises of the library touched her ears again.

"What class is that for?" Matt prompted again.

"It's not for a class. It's to help Hagrid."

"What does Hagrid need help with?" Cody, sitting the closest to Hermione's right, asked. Close was a relative term, since Hermione was surrounded by thick books, stacked up almost like a fortress with windows.

"With Buckbeak's trial."

"Whoa, wait," Matt thumped hard onto the bench seat to Hermione's left. He pushed some of the stacked books out of the way. "What is Buckbeak doing on trial?"

"Because he hurt Malfoy, remember?"

"Yeah, but I thought that was resolved when he punched Ken," Davis half-smiled at the memory.

"Well, it certainly helped _Hagrid_, but they still want to put Buckbeak on trial. Hagrid's really scared because Hippogriffs are thought of as dangerous."

Matt snorted. "Not when you know how to treat them right."

"_Most_ people think they're dangerous creatures," Hermione pointed out. Matt and Hagrid were probably the only two wizards in whole world who thought the opposite. "And the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is in Lucius Malfoy's pocket."

"Buckbeak hurt Malfoy, so his dad is getting revenge?" Kari pieced together the disgusting idea, showing her revolution plainly on her face.

"Yes," Hermione sighed. "So I'm trying to help Hagrid out by hopefully finding other cases on Hippogriffs. Maybe I can find something useful and stop them from killing Buckbeak."

"With all the work you're already doing?" Matt asked. Hermione shot him a 'don't you start' glare. "What section did you get that book from?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to help Buckbeak. I don't think it is right that an innocent creature should suffer to fulfill someone's selfish desires."

Hermione pointed over to a book case that held several other books with mind-numbing titles such as _Court Cases Concerning Creatures: 1800-1850._ Davis gagged a little just at the thought of the dull text lying between its bindings. All the same, he helped clear off the table with Kari as Matt, Cody, TK, and Ken took the books off of the shelves.

"What're doing? You're supposed to be studying," Hermione chided.

"We haven't been studying for the past ten minutes," Ken said. "We got tired of quizzing each other, so we decided to wait out the rest of the time."

"Davis wanted to throw things at you," Cody said.

"Bits of paper!" Davis corrected, so no one would consider things also included ink wells or items just as heavy.

"Thanks for stopping him," Hermione muttered as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Parchment doesn't make good wads," Davis mumbled.

Soon the table was littered with a new batch of books. Davis grabbed the first book he saw with an interesting title – _Dangerous Magical Creatures Harming Wizards and Witches_ – and scanned the pages as everyone else followed suit.

"You guys don't have to do this," Hermione tried again. "You really should be studying. Finals will be here before you know it."

"Please," Ken looked up from his book and smiled. "What are friends for?"

Hermione nearly snorted and told them about her fight with Ron and Harry and how they seemed to forget all about Buckbeak. But that was another matter, something that needed to be resolved between just them three. She would never once think of not calling Harry or Ron her friends, no matter how many times they were thickheaded, but at that moment, her mind's eye was flooded with images of the Japanese students being her best friends. She talked girl things and laughed with Kari, debated magical theory with Ken, and helped out everyone as they appreciated her and helped her out whenever they could. Ron and Harry simply didn't exist in this version of reality, so there was no need for her to feel guilty about spending all her time with these six.

Shaking her head clear of the indulgent dream, Hermione buried herself back into the book of magical creature cases.

The hour was short already and the children got little done in the way of research. Before Madam Pince shooed them away, they made sure each of them checked out a case book to skim through during their last few free moments.

In the hallway, Hermione stopped Matt and let the others go ahead. Though there was enough light to make your way just fine, Ken went to his dorm with his wand acting as a flash light. He didn't think the wannabe pranksters would try to get him again, but he wished that they would. He needed to return a punch.

"I have something to tell you and . . . it's a little embarrassing. See, the last time we were in Hogsmeade, before Harry came along and we learned about Sirius–"

"I haven't told anyone," Matt reassured her, then backtracked. "Well, I've told TK and the others, but they know how to keep a secret."

"No, no, no, that's not it. But thank you," Hermione gave a smile but it quickly faded. "Look, you are one-sixth of the Japanese population at school. Part of the reason why Headmaster Dumbledore implemented the TOFS program at Hogwarts was because the other schools that have it are having difficulty with the separation between foreign students and local students."

"Yeah, I think Mr. Weasley mentioned something like that. What's that got to do with me?"

Hermione sucked in a breath and spat out the heart of the matter, "Before we Hogsmeade, Professor McGonagall asked Ron and me to try and introduce you to other students better so maybe you could make more friends and be an example to the rest of the Japanese students because you guys haven't been connecting with other students and it's starting to turn into the same problem the other schools have, only a smaller scale."

Hermione had looked down when she started rambling, afraid Matt's look might make her stop. She couldn't imagine how embarrassing it would be to hear someone was supposed to set you up with more friends. Finally looking up, she could see that Matt was confused and shocked.

Recovering quickly, though, Matt ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, make more friends. Like it's that easy. When we're not struggling to keep up with classes, we're either in extra practice or tutoring sessions. And when we're not overloading our brains, we're being constantly reminded about how much we don't know."

"Maybe, if you tried…" Hermione feebly trailed off when Matt shot her a dark look.

"Hermione, maybe you should be having this conversation with the other Hogwarts students. Once they got over the hype of us being from Japan, they haven't given us a second thought. In fact, the only other person other than you to reach out to us was Draco and all he wanted to do was open doors for his family.

"Who am I supposed to make friends with, huh? The kids two years younger than me that are in the same year as me? Or the kids my age who are two years ahead me? What about Ken? He's a genius but because of his lack of knowledge, practically no one in Ravenclaw speaks to him. Cody's convinced he doesn't belong in Hufflepuff. TK is friendly enough but no one has extended themselves in return. Same goes for Davis and Kari. It seems like everyone in Hogwarts has already chosen their friends and have no more room for anyone else."

"That's not true!"

"Like I said, tell that to them," Matt stormed off, leaving a sputtering Hermione behind.

As soon as he was around a corner, he ducked into another hallway, opting for a different route back to the Gryffindor dorms. He knew he had come down on Hermione too hard, but it was a real blow to him to be told that. In truth, he hadn't been trying to make friends at Hogwarts. He was simply trying to survive it, waiting to go back to Japan and be among familiar faces, sights and sounds. Even in the Digital World he didn't feel this disconnected from his home.

This view of Hogwarts possibly stemmed from his time spent here during the summer. It was an extremely hard time for all of them, suddenly thrust into magic and put through years of learning within a few months. Even after their classes ended and they were able to explore the castle and grounds a bit more, they pretty much stayed to the hallways they had walked countless times. They had all felt isolated – more so to the fact that they were too exhausted each night to write home – but Matt got the worst of it. Most of the time he was in classes all by himself, being taught even more than the others, but in the same amount of time.

Matt took a deep, cleansing breath. The summer might've put an over tone on Hogwarts for him, but he should have dispelled it by now. He's seen more of the castle, even visited Hogsmeade a few times, and has interacted with other people (if only as acquaintances).

But despite his hang ups on Hogwarts, it didn't mean what he said to Hermione wasn't true. He might not be found of Hogwarts, but he has truly tried to get along with the other students. Most that are in his year think he shouldn't be making friends with people their age. Those that are his age treat him like he's slow, despite the fact that they know why he hasn't done magic before. Well, they know _a_ reason.

_I don't know. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places,_ Matt mused to himself as he strolled down one of the numerous hallways in Hogwarts. He wasn't afraid of getting caught by Filch. The few times they had run into him after their tutoring sessions, Filch only growled at them and told them to get to their dorms right away. It was weird to hear a grown man actually growl like a dog protecting his bone, but the kids figured so long as they were heading towards their dorms, they wouldn't get into trouble.

_You'd think being the one with the Crest of Friendship would make it easier to make friends_.

"Hurry up, come on!" a voice whispered, stopping Matt in his tracks.

A tapestry bowed for a second, then rippled. "Wait! Better check."

From the side facing away from Matt, one of the Weasley twins poked his head out ever-so sneaky-like and surveyed the hallway. Before he could look the other way, Matt spoke up.

"Hey, Guys."

The twins both jumped so badly that it looked like they were shoved into the open. They did their best to look graceful as they fluttered with the tapestry. While it was pulled away from the wall, Matt could clearly see another passageway and Lee Jordan trying to hide.

The flaying about stopped once they realized who it was.

"You had going there for a second," Fred said.

"Matt, what are you doing out after curfew?" George asked.

"Just left a tutoring session. What are _you three_ doing out after curfew?"

Lee finally left the safety of the hidden passage and the three grinned at each other.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

The next day brought more classes and more homework. The Japanese students worked diligently, either pouring themselves over their notes or over case books in search for help with Buckbeak. Davis noted that he had to be hanging out with Hermione too much if he was willing to read _more_ books. Ken noted that this was a positive thing, to the annoyance of Davis.

However, Ken couldn't focus much on the cases of magical creatures, as he was itching to get to his extra DADA lesson. Ken left the Gryffindor Tower earlier than needed and was grateful to see Professor Lupin was already there.

"Ah, come in, come in," Professor Lupin called from his desk. He was shuffling some papers around and not really making the desk any tidier – just moving the mess from one side to the next.

Ken came into the room and put his things down on the bench he usually sat at, which was in the center and front. Not that sitting arrangements matter much in Professor Lupin's class, they usually pushed everything to walls so they could practice what they learn. The only time it mattered was when Professor Snape took over the class. At times like that, the classroom filled up in the back first and the ill-timed got stuck near the front.

"So, I was thinking about what to teach you," Professor Lupin said as he rummaged through his brief case. "You seem keen on dark creatures but you really will learn about those in your third year. Including the bogart."

Ken deflated a little. Learning how to repel one of his greatest fears was one of his greatest hopes.

"I think that instead of teaching you advance topics, I'm going to expand on what you already know."

"Ah, the Hermione approach," Ken half-smirked. "Anything worth learning is worth over learning."

Professor Lupin chuckled. "Well, maybe you can get caught up in the details too much. But, in your case, I think a little more information couldn't hurt. Right then, shall we begin?"

Ken nodded and sat down. He started taking out his quill, ink well, and some parchment but Professor Lupin stopped him.

"Come on, now, you know me better than that," Professor Lupin motioned Ken out of the seat. As soon as the way was clear, Professor Lupin waved his wand and sent the benches and connected desks clattering back. They left a ten foot wide clearing at the front of the classroom.

"Now, I have taught you the Impediment Curse…" his cocked to the side, remembering. "Yes, yes I have. Some where near the beginning of summer."

"You mentioned it once and moved onto something else," Ken added. "I've got one note on it."

"And you made it sound like you learned nothing during the summer," Professor Lupin gave him a grin. Ken raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, the incantation is _impedimenta_."

Ken repeated three times, making sure he got the pronunciation down right.

"Good, very good," Lupin strode over to the other side of his desk. Bending over for a moment, he retrieved three colorful balls that jugglers would use. "Here are your practice targets – just a few harmless, non-enchanted balls. I toss them, you block them."

Ken nodded, noting his professor's casual tone. Professor Lupin has never seemed like someone who would go for formalities, but even he had professionalism when it came to conducting classes. Now, just one-on-one, Lupin seemed even more relaxed and more practical.

Professor Lupin tossed the first ball purposely too high. Ken tried the spell and the ball flew over his head at a slower pace.

"Give it more strength, Ken."

He threw another ball and Ken tried again. The ball flew so slow that Ken reached up and plucked it out of the air. He returned to his place and nodded to Professor Lupin.

The third ball was tossed and Ken didn't slow it down as much as the second time, but definitely more than the first time.

"That's okay, Ken," Lupin said as Ken tossed back the balls. "It'll take practice before you get consistent results. Ready?"

The night wore on as Lupin and Ken worked on refining Ken's grasp on the spell. By the end of the night, Ken could stop the balls in mid-air but only when he was completely focused on the spell. Otherwise, the spell only slowed down the balls. Even still, this was saying something, as Lupin had increased how fast he threw the balls over Ken.

"I think we've practiced enough for tonight," Lupin said. "Tea?"

Lupin conjured up a chair by the side of his desk that wasn't covered with papers and then two cups of hot tea on his desk. Ken sat and took a sip.

"Green tea," Ken smiled.

"One of my favorites," Lupin said. He took a sip and said, "So, Ken, how has Hogwarts been treating you? Any more sudden visits to the dungeons?"

"No, things have been quiet. Busy, but quiet."

They drank tea for a little more in silence before Lupin spoke up again.

"Do you think Europe?"

"I don't know. I've seen Diagon Alley and Hogwarts. I haven't seen _Europe_."

"Fair enough," Lupin smiled.

"I'd like to see more of Europe. Maybe we'll delay going back home for a week or so and do some sight-seeing."

"That is a brilliant idea. More kids should do that. Any places in mind?"

"London, for starters. Maybe other famous cities, like Paris and Berlin. There's also this one town I'd like to see, even if it's not much of a tourist spot."

"Oh? Is this place special to you?"

"Sort of. My parents went there before I was born. They had decided to go to England and just drive from one town to the next, staying in one spot until they got bored."

"I think I know where you get your adventurous side from."

"No, not really. I think it was to save their marriage, actually."

Lupin stopped sipping his tea and looked at Ken with an inquisitive look.

"They don't talk about it much, but I've pieced it together from when they've talked about the trip. I think work and life in general was becoming too much of a strain on them, so they decided to get away from it all for awhile. They've showed me the pictures from the trip and I could see the difference. Before the town, they stood so far apart, you could have put someone in between them when they posed for pictures. Afterwards, they were like newlyweds again."

"You think the town has some kind of magic?"

Ken shrugged and sipped his tea. "I'm just curious. I'd like to see what brought them together again."

Lupin was smiling again, happy that Ken was at ease enough to share this with him. "What's the town called?"

"Heamoor," Ken said and took a sip of his tea.

Lupin's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I had friends who lived there once. Beautiful place but there wasn't much there."

Ken shrugged. "I don't expect much. It'd just be interesting to see the place."

Lupin nodded and sipped his tea some more. "When did you say this trip took place?"

"Nearly a year before I was born. Sometime in July, I think." Ken saw that Lupin opened his mouth but then closed it. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. You should probably head back to your common room now and get some homework done."

"Thank you for the tea, Professor Lupin," Ken got up and bowed slightly. He didn't care if he was in Scotland and Lupin most likely didn't really get it.

Professor Lupin, however, didn't make much of it. After Ken grabbed his pack and left with a "thank you for the lesson," Lupin sat at his desk for a while, pondering over the new information he had just learned. First, he found out that Ken wasn't as closed off as he appeared. He just didn't babble about his life like so many do. Given the opportunity, the boy can open up pretty quickly. Hopefully Ken will trust him with more than idle chat in the future.

But something else nagged at Lupin. Ken's parents had visited Heamoor the same time his friends were having troubles in their lives. Though Lupin really had no foundation for his worry, he worried still.

Finally getting up, Lupin went over to the desks, ready to magically move them back into place. It was then that he noticed that Ken had left his quill behind.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Two days later, on the first Thursday back, Cody finally found some time to be alone. He had spent the week so far getting through his homework and searching what books he could for Buckbeak. He still wanted to help as much as he could, but Cody also had another issue he needed to work on.

Kendo was one of Cody's passions but it had been neglected in the pervious months. Cody had barely thought about it as he strove to get so far ahead in his knowledge that they'd let him skip a year. Whenever it did creep into his mind, he'd tell himself that he would practice next Sunday. But next Sunday would roll around and Cody would be reading ahead in his text books or fact checking his essays or memorizing information for a future test.

Cody was never one for self-deceit or procrastination, so to mend his poor behavior of the first half of the school year, he promised himself to study Kendo at least once a week, whenever he got the chance.

And there rose the problem.

He was sure the school wouldn't let him carry his shinai and bōgu (bamboo sword and armor) around, let alone give him permission to _use_ them. They had very strict rules about what students could or couldn't do. Most of them made sense, as they were there to protect them.

But he was determined to practice kendo. Now, there is a general rule that says students are expected to be in their common rooms after dinner but (Cody knew he was treading a thin line) "expected to be" didn't equal "must be." There were kids other than his friend and himself who went to the library after dinner sometimes.

This line of reasoning led Cody to an unused classroom that was close to the Hufflepuff dorms. This room clearly hadn't been used in a long time, as it was mostly empty, with a few things scattered here and there and one of the sets drapes on the floor. There were three narrow-but-tall windows evenly spread across the far wall with old-style currents and golden tassels faded by years and thick layers of dust – aside from the last window. Three desks were pushed against the back wall, broken and forgotten about. Book shelves lined the lower part of the walls, emptied out aside from cobwebs catching more dust bunnies than bugs.

It didn't have much personality or charm, but Cody picked the spot in hopes of getting back to his common room quickly and unnoticed. Most didn't pay attention to him, anyway, so it's not like he would be missed.

Cody closed the door behind him and stood in the center of the room. He took a good fifteen minutes to stretches, exercises and even jogged a little around the room to get his heart rate up. Finally got into position like he was holding his shinai. He did his best to imagine an opponent and that he was really holding his bamboo sword.

Cody shouted, thrust forward, and stomped his foot, as he was supposed to. The imagines wavered and disappeared from his mind's eye, making it impossible to tell if he had actually done any good with that strike. His foot hit the floor hard enough to remind Cody that he wasn't on the padded floors of his grandfather's dojo. Stone floors were much more unforgiving and repeatedly stomping his foot would only harm him in the end.

Cody stood in the room, thinking. This wasn't going to work. He could work on his foot positions and stances, but he already does those during his warm ups. And, rusty or not, he was long past just doing those as his practice. But he needed something to work as a shinai.

Half-hopeful, Cody went over to the fallen drapes and was very happy to see a plain metal rod in the heap. The rod was roughly the size of a shinai. Gripping it just like his sword, Cody noted that the rod was a little bit thicker but not by much. Its weight wasn't balanced at all, obviously, but when Cody swung it through the air, he was able to keep his stance, feet and hand position correct.

"This will do, for now," Cody said to himself and stood in his spot in the middle of the room again.

He tried striking his imaginary opponent again. He "struck" right where he wanted to. He continued to strike and soon that faceless, generic opponent took the form of his favorite sparing partner – his grandfather. This was better because he has spared so many times with his grandfather, he could imagine his movements and adjust his moves to block the imaginary swings.

The walls of Hogwarts disappeared and replaced with shadowy versions of his grandfather's dojo. Cody felt the ghost weight of the bōgu that he had worn so many times before. He was so intent on what he was doing that he didn't notice the passage of time or anything other than his imaginary grandfather.

He eventually did stop, breathing hard and quite satisfied.

Suddenly, he heard clapping coming from the door way and jumped in surprise. There were two Hufflepuff boys that he had seen around the common room but had never talked to. Though both were taller than Cody, one was noticeably taller than the other, nearing six feet. He had black hair loosely curling close to his head and hazel eyes. His body was thick but it looked to be mostly muscles.

The other boy was shorter by about six inches and was practically the opposite in appearance. His hair was long, bright blonde, and tied back in a pony tail. What wasn't trapped by the hair tie was wispy and frizzing out from his head. His eyes were a slate blue.

"What were you just doing?" the first boy, the taller one, asked. "It looks like fun."

"Kendo," Cody answered, slightly embarrassed to be found. "It's a Japanese fighting style."

"You guys fight with current rods?" the other boy grinned.

"What? No, we use bamboo swords. Mine's just back home…" Cody trailed off as he watched the blonde hair boy suddenly sprint across the room. With grace, the boy hopped onto the low book shelves and took down the currents of the last window. Retrieving the rod, the boy took a step backwards and landed on his feet as if he did this sort of thing every day.

"Think you can teach me some kendo?" he asked.

"Me, too!" the other boy grinned. He went to the remaining window and got his rod. "I'm Jason Weldon, by the way. That's Aaron Kerr."

"Um, I can't teach you. I'm just a student."

"Oh, come on, people teach each other stuff all the time without really being professional," Jason said, joining Aaron in the middle of the room, both standing in front of Cody.

"Besides, a professional is just someone who can act like they know what they're talking about," Aaron smirked.

"Still, it'll be improper."

"But it'll be safer."

To prove his friend's point, Jason did his best to duplicate Cody's stance and lunged forward. Out of reflex, Cody leapt back and blocked the rod.

"You don't just attack like that!" Cody shouted. "And we don't even have armor. Someone could get seriously injured!"

"See, we need you to teach us. You know how to look out for our safety," Aaron noted as if the boys had always wanted to learn kendo and were merely looking for a sensei to take them on.

"No," Cody said again. "It's great that you guys want to learn kendo, really. But without the proper equipment, you can't be taught much."

"I can fix that," Jason grinned broadly and dashed out of the room, leaving behind the rod.

"What's he going to do?" Cody asked.

"Oh, probably talk to Professor Sprout and see if she can turn this into a club," Aaron said as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.

However, this made Cody go pale and he raced out of the room (also leaving behind the rod) and dashed into the Hufflepuff common room. He scanned the area and couldn't find Jason anywhere. Maybe they were just joking. He'd gladly be the butt of a feeble prank if it meant he wasn't about to be roped into creating a kendo club.

Cody started looking down the tunnel-like hallway that led to the boys' dorms. Jason looked like he was a few years older than him, but that might have just been his height. Cody searched all of the rooms he could, trying to causally peer into rooms with the door open. He saw no sign of Jason and didn't hear him from behind a closed door.

Defeated, Cody went back to the common room. Maybe if he just disappeared back into the background, they'd forget he was there…

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Iori!"

Hopes dashed, the youngest Hufflepuff turned around to see Professor Sprout, Jason and Aaron behind him. They all had big grins on their face.

"Mr. Weldon and Mr. Kerr were just telling me about an idea for a candle club."

"Kendo, Professor Sprout," Jason corrected.

"Oh, right, kendo. I think it's a wonderful idea."

"But-but Professor Sprout! I couldn't teach kendo! If they want to learn, they should find a real sensei –"

"Come here, Mr. Iori," Professor Sprout put a hand on his back and led him to spot devoid of students. In a lowered voice, she said, "Now listen closely. Jason and Aaron are two of my most excitable students. They see adventure around every corner and they usually get bored very quickly. Most of their grand ideas fizzle out within a week. But I believe they might be onto something this time. I've noticed that you've been having troubles making friends."

Cody looked down, not wanting to argue the point with a professor.

"Of course you have your Japanese friends, people that you have more in common with than the other Hogwarts students. That could be the problem. You and they don't have enough in common. With a kendo club, we could teach the other students about Japanese culture and maybe find some middle ground. I'm looking to turn any of my students into great swordsmen. You can teach the basics and if a student shows more interest, they can find a professional to teach them more."

The idea seemed tempting. Cody was sure if he could do basics with them – teach them more about the _spirit_ of kendo – then he wouldn't really be a false sensei. Just some one who was opening the door for the other students . . . with a little bit of practice.

"But we don't have any equipment. We need shinai and bōgu and –"

Professor Sprout put up a hand. "Just give me a list of what is needed and I'll see about the expenses."

Cody fidgeted but finally said, "I'll have to ask my grandfather. He's my teacher."

Professor Sprout nodded. "You do what you need to. But do it soon. The end of the year will be here before you know it."

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

The end of the week was there before Lupin knew it. It had been a rough one for him, especially the last two days, after his suspicions were confirmed. A part of him wished very sincerely that he hadn't noticed; that he had brushed off the comment like the many times he's had to when someone called him a foul name. But he had to know, one way or the other. And now that it has been confirmed…

Lupin knocked on Dumbledore's office door and waited for permission to enter. On this peaceful Sunday night, the circular room was lit softly and several paintings of the headmasters of very advanced age were already snoring softly while many of the paintings were empty. A few of them held two or three headmasters and headmistresses, but most of them seemed to visiting other canvases. A cozy fire gave the room a subtle glow, basting the silver objects all around the office a golden look to them. Dumbledore stood at the window facing the east, watching the dark of night turn to its true, deep black. The mountains were no more than shadowy stamps against a star filled sky. Despite the sober scenery, the old man did not seem lost in sour or gloomy thoughts. In fact, he was humming what sounded like a child's song.

The humming stopped when Lupin was half way to Dumbledore and the headmaster turned away from the window.

"You told me you found something."

Lupin sighed in relief. He really didn't know how to get the conversation started but Dumbledore set the tone. The "just spit it out" tone suited Lupin just fine.

"Sir, Ken Ichijouji has started taking extra DA lessons with me, to fill in some gasps in his knowledge." Dumbledore waited for Lupin to continue. "His first lesson was this last Tuesday. After the lesson, we had chat."

"You found something about Ken?"

"I found out something about Ken's parents. They visited Heamoor, England about thirteen years ago."

Instead of explaining the rest, Lupin took out vile large from his pocket. In it were a piece of a quill and three black strands of hair floating in a purplish-blue liquid. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up so fast that Lupin almost expected to see his beard follow suit.

Facial hair remaining in place, Dumbledore asked, "You are sure of the results?"

"I did it three times. There's no mistake."

"This is definitely an unpredicted development," Dumbledore finally looked away from the vile and back to Lupin. "I do believe that they should be made aware of this."

"Yes, Dumbledore . . . But how do you tell a boy who has never known his parents that he has a brother?"

**End Chapter Ten:**_** The Beginning of New Ties**_

If you're interested in learning about kendo, there are many great sites with lots of information. A good place to start would be the kendo page on Wikipedia. I don't practice kendo, so I hope I did an okay job of representing it.


	12. Stormy Weather

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Eleven: Stormy Weather

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: Kyokoaurora

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: Oops! I made a mistake in my last chapter. In the beginning of the scene where Ken had his extra DADA lesson, I said that he left the Gryffindor Tower, when we all know that he's a Ravenclaw. A simple mistake and no, he wasn't in the Gryffindor Tower visiting friends. I'm not sure other houses are allowed in the common room of other houses…

But hopefully mistakes like that will be a thing of the past! I've got a beta reader! See the name in the position? I'm so happy! She reviewed last chapter, we IM'd a little and she offered to help me out! It's hard for me to find a beta reader because I need one who knows both series and can take the time to do the job. The other beta readers I used to have got too busy with life, which I understand.

Thank you, Kyokoaurora!

**Chapter Eleven: Stormy Weather**

"Ah, Harry. Ken. You're both here, good," Professor Lupin waved them in from the door of his office. It was Monday night and the two had been separately asked by Professor Lupin to see him after dinner.

Ken and Harry first thought Professor Lupin wanted to discuss their extra lessons or something along those lines. Their biggest worry was that their teacher was going to claim it was too much work for him and they'd have to cancel. When the two met up along the corridor that took them to Professor Lupin's office, they grew confused and slightly more worried that Professor Lupin was going to cancel their extra lessons at the same time.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?" Ken asked in hopes of breaking the tension in the air. He and Harry sat in the two chairs in front of Lupin's desk, where the mess was pushed to the edges as much as possible for some work space.

"Yes. Yes, I wanted to talk to both of you. This concerns both of you…"

Ken and Harry looked at each other. The most time these two spent had ever spent together was in the hospitable wing the weekend of the Quidditch match.

Lupin took a breath and seemed to solidify his nerves. "Right then. I guess I should first explain a spell."

"A spell?" Harry asked.

"This spell was created roughly two centuries ago. During this time, there were many muggle-born wizards and witches claiming that they really were the long-lost relatives of the pure blood families, and thus, pure blood themselves. Not many people took them seriously, especially when their numbers got into the hundreds, but they still caused a scandal that wasn't going to go away any time soon. To prove or disprove these claims, a witch by the name of Aegis Decent created the Decent Potion. After making the potion, all that was needed was some hair or blood or even something that was held often by the two people.

"If there's no shared blood between the two people, then the potion turns to smoke. There are different colors to represent how much blood is shared between the people."

"Professor, not that this isn't interesting," Ken said in a voice that suggested he wasn't interested at all, "but did you call us in here for a random history lesson?"

"There is a point, Ken," Lupin pulled out the large test tube from his robe's inner pocket. In it was a purple-blue liquid with some strands of hair and a bit of a feather. Lupin inhaled before saying, "This color means the two people share a parent. Harry, those are your hairs. Ken, that's a part of your quill."

Ken and Harry stared at their professor while their brains took a tea break.

Once Harry's mental tea was finish, a thought formed in his head.

"That's not possible," he stated.

"I'm afraid it is, Harry," Lupin said.

"Our families are from two different countries – on opposite sides of the world!"

Ken muttered, "The vacation."

"What?" Harry looked at Ken and saw that he was pale.

"Ken's parents visited England about thirteen years ago. They stopped in a Heamoor. And, Harry, your parents were living there at the time."

"What?"

"Just before they moved to Godric's Hollow," Lupin finished.

"So? That doesn't prove anything! My dad loved my mum!"

"He did, with all his heart. As I'm sure your mum, Ken, loves your father with all of her heart. But it's not that simple, you have to understand. Back then, Voldemort was at the height of his power. Lilly and James were two of the best in the resistance against him but the war affected their relationship –"

"So my dad sleeps with some other woman?! Is that what you're saying?"

"Harry, it's not that simple. Please –"

"No!" Harry jumped up from his chair. "I will not listen to this rubbish!"

"Just hold on –"

"You're lying!" Harry screamed. "You – You did the potion wrong! You mixed something up! My father did not sleep with another woman!"

Harry stormed out of the room with Lupin calling after him. Had he only told Harry, he would have run after the boy to make sure he was okay. But Ken was here, too, and if anything was more frightening than Harry's explosion, it had to be a boy who's barely reacted to this situation at all.

"Ken?" Lupin asked. Ken's head was lowered and his hands were clenched on his legs. "Ken, don't take Harry's reaction to heart. He's just shock – like you are, I'm sure. Is there anything I can do?"

"Take it back," Ken rasped. He could feel his voice in his throat but he could barely hear it over the ringing in his ears.

"But . . . aren't you curious?" Okay, it was a lame question, but Professor Lupin was doing his best to keep Ken from storming off as well.

"No."

Ken got up to leave but this time, Lupin got up and put a hand on Ken's shoulder.

"Look, I understand this is painful, but you can't ignore it. I know you have a lot of questions."

"You know nothing about me!" Ken looked Lupin in the eyes, and Lupin took his hand off of Ken's shoulder in shock. The boy's eyes were angry – fear, hurt, and confused, yes, but mostly intense anger shot out at Lupin.

He tried to put his hand on Ken's shoulder again but Ken smacked his hand away and ran for the door.

Lupin groaned and rubbed his temples. "Great idea, Remus. You _are_ a bloody genius."

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

The next day was stormy, although the skies were an uninterrupted blue and the sun was a bright orb lighting the world. Harry had been up before anyone else and waited in the common room until Ron came down. Ron sense right away something was up but Harry refused to answer, but insisted that they go to breakfast. In the Great Hall, Harry raged war on his food. His eggs were forked like they were enemy soldiers and he buttered his toast so fiercely that he pushed the knife all the way through to the other side.

"Harry, your food's already dead," Ron muttered after Harry had put down the knife.

"Have you seen Fred or George yet?" Harry asked as he scanned the room. He noticed that Lupin wasn't at the professor's table. He wasn't sure, but he couldn't see Ken at the Ravenclaw table, either.

"No, they sometimes skip breakfast. I suppose that's how they've explored so much of the castle. Why'd you want to see them?"

"I want some tips on how to skive a class," Harry whispered.

"Why? What class?"

"DA."

"But you love that class!"

"Not anymore."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing my broom! I'm not an idiot, Harry. You saw Professor Lupin in his office last night and now you want to avoid him . . ."

Harry looked up and saw Ron's very concerned face. "What?"

"He – He didn't . . . you know . . ."

"Know what?"

"He didn't do anything? I mean, he didn't touch your _wand_, did he?"

Harry was so glad he had swallowed his eggs just before Ron asked him such a question. "No! Merlin's beard, _no_! Why would you think such a thing!?"

"Because you're not telling me anything! I can't help assuming the worst. If he didn't do anything inappropriate, then what the bloody hell is going on?"

"He told me I have a brother."

"You have a brother?"

"No."

"But Professor Lupin says you have a brother."

"He's a liar."

"Why would Professor Lupin say you have a brother?"

"I don't know."

"He's got to have a reason."

"You sound like Hermione."

"Do not! It's just the truth. Why would anyone make up such a thing?"

"I don't _know_. Why is there an earwax flavored jelly bean out there?"

"It just seems like a very silly thing to make up. Who's your brother?"

"I don't have –"

"Then who is brother you don't have but Professor Lupin says you have?"

"Ken Ichi…Ichi-jo-wee-jee or something. The Japanese Ravenclaw."

Ron looked over at the Ravenclaw table. "I don't see him. Did Lupin tell him, too?"

"He told us together."

"I wonder how he's taken it."

"He's a Ravenclaw. He should be smart to see this for the lie that it is."

"Then he'd be here, eating breakfast, wouldn't he?"

Harry didn't seem willing to accept that logic, so he stabbed the remaining eggs and ate them without tasting them much.

"I guess we could ask Matt," Ron offered.

"Thought you didn't like him."

"I don't. But he likes us. Maybe he'll tell us what Ken thinks about it." Ron looked down the table and then over at the other tables. "Huh. He's not here either…Wonder where he is?"

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Hermione walked down a hallway, books in hand and tucked away in her book bag that wept for last year, when all it had to do was worry about the occasional heavy book from the library. As she marched passed classrooms yet to be used today and paintings bidding her good morning, Hermione fiddled with a gold chain around her neck. Every now and then, and this morning, a little thought came into her head.

It said: _Turn back time a few hours and take a nap. No one will know._

But she had made a promise to Professor McGonagall not to abuse the Time Turner's magic. She was to only use it to get to her classes that she couldn't otherwise. Any other use of the Time Turner would be breaking the rules set down by one of her favorite professors and she was not going to break the trust of her professor over a couple of hours of extra sleep.

Hermione shook her head to clear it of drossiness. Right now, she wanted to make it to the classroom at least fifteen minutes early. She's found that she actually gets more done that way instead of waiting until the last minute to leave the library.

"Hi, Hermione!" a harmonious pair of voices rang through her thoughts. "Bye, Hermione!"

A blur of robes and red hair zoomed by her, quickly followed by Matt.

"Matt? What's going on?" Hermione asked.

Matt stopped in front of her, but clearly looked like he wanted to keep up with the two who were already turning a corner. "Hey, Hermione!"

"Was that Fred and George? Why are you all running so fast . . . Wait, why are you running with them at all?"

In reply, Matt just grinned and said, "You didn't see us."

And then he was off like a shot. Fred and George had waited for Matt and lead him down a hidden passageway that would allow them to double back and get to their respective classes on time.

A now very confused Hermione continued her brisk walk down the hallway, determined to get some of her work done like she had planned. If she hurried, she could answer at least two questions from her Transfiguration homework.

"Blasted pranksters!" a gruff voice shouted. It was winded, exasperated and belonged to caretaker Filch. He came storming down the hallway with tiny, puffy yellow birds flying around his head. Mrs. Norris looked rather intent on catching those birds, though none of them were in her reach. "I swear hang them by their toes in the lowest dungeon, where no one can hear them scream! Get away from me, you mindless rats with wings!"

The birds seemed to take offense to his statement and pecked at the remaining hair on his balding head. Filch was too busy swatting at the swift but pudgy birds to take notice of Hermione, who was walking very fast in the direction _away_ from Filch. She wasn't going to go into a full out run. That'd be like cutting yourself in shark infested waters.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

For the rest of the week, the storm raged on, it seemed. Harry was very unapproachable, although Ron kept close to him at all times – much to Harry's annoyance. Ron had wisely not declared that he believed Professor Lupin, but he also hadn't declared that he didn't believe Professor Lupin. He wanted to ask Professor Lupin about the situation, but Harry wasn't giving him much of a chance. As soon as classes were over, Harry jumped up and ran out the door, cutting off every professor's chance to talk to him.

As for talking with Matt, Ron would only look for him when Harry seemed like he was going to sit still for more than five minutes. Aside from doing homework, Harry would suddenly get an irresistible urge to wonder the halls. It wasn't how Harry usually handled upsetting news. Usually, Harry would stare into the fire or out the window or try to pretend that everything was okay. Now, it was like he was itching to get into trouble. With Sirius Black out there, Ron decided that keeping Harry from doing something too stupid was his top priority.

But, finally, he got his chance to talk to Matt. Harry hadn't been sleeping well for the week, so on Saturday, not only did Harry go to bed early, but he also crashed so hard Ron was sure a troll couldn't wake him up.

He went into the common room and found Matt, TK, Davis, and Kari sitting around in a corner of the common room. Hermione was in another corner, buried so deep in books that the only way Ron was sure it was Hermione was from the frizzy brown hair that would pop up over the books for a brief second before diving back down. The same troll that couldn't wake Harry probably couldn't pry Hermione from her studies and know-it-all attitude.

"I'm telling you, Snape is scarier than Mummymon!"

"He's no match for Arukenimon, though," Kari snickered.

"I wonder what kind of creatures Snape could make with his hair…"

To that, everyone shuddered and then laughed. Ron couldn't understand what they were talking about, but didn't think much on it. It was probably something popular over in Japan, maybe one of those Tell Oley* things Harry told him about once.

"Matt, can I talk to you?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?" Matt asked.

"Alone?" Ron gestured to a less crowded spot of the common room.

"It's about Ken and Harry, isn't it?" Kari asked.

"They know about the situation," Matt informed, "so it's not like you're going to shock them or anything."

Ron didn't look comfortable at the idea, but he sat down in an empty chair that was at the table they were all huddled around.

"How's Harry doing?" Matt asked. "Every time I see him, he looks ready to throttle me."

"It's not personal; he's ready to throttle anyone."

"Well, that answers my question."

"He doesn't want to talk to anyone," Ron went on. "He gets pissed if I mention Professor Lupin or Ken – even if I just say, 'We better get Professor Lupin's essay done!'"

"Well, his view about his parents was basically turned upside down," TK offered. "It would upset anyone."

"Yeah, but to carry on like this? I mean, it was years ago!"

"How would you feel if you found out that your father cheated on your mother?"

"My mum would never do that!" Ron turned bright red. "…But I get your point."

"I don't think it's healthy, the way Harry and Ken are handling the situation," Kari said.

"They're not handling it," TK pointed out.

"Huh? What's with Ken?" Ron asked.

"He's avoiding us," Davis said. "He's stopped going to the extra practices and our study group and he doesn't seem to ever eat in the Great Hall. We haven't even had any double classes with him so far."

"It's like they're both shutting down in their own way," Matt said.

"Yeah, and no one can talk to them until they peak out of their shells," TK said.

"You mean there's nothing I can do until Harry decides to accept it?" Ron moaned, now realizing why he came to talk Matt in the first place. He needed someone to talk to about this, to figure out what to do.

"Or at least until he's cooled down," Matt said.

"Great! I should be able to have a normal conversation with him when he's fifty!"

Matt didn't say anything, so Kari picked up the slack. "Don't worry; I'm sure it'll all work out. Harry and Ken are just a little lost right now. We need to give them a little more time."

"You sound confident."

"That's Kari," Davis wrapped an arm around her, making her smile. Long ago he had learned one of her turn offs was to be called someone's girl, as if they owned her somehow. He learned this when Kari slapped him across the face at school and told him off in front of a bunch of their peers.

"I think I left my potions book in my room," TK muttered as he got up from the table and headed off to the dorm rooms.

"I need to finish off my potion's homework, too," Ron grimaced like he'd rather deal with Harry than write out an essay for Snape. He waved a good bye to everyone and headed up to his dorm room. He really didn't feel like working on homework in the same room as Hermione, who would probably sense his laziness and pry herself away from her studies just to nag him. Not that he'd respond to her – they still didn't know if the Firebolt was going to be okay.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

"OW!" Harry cried as he stumbled back. "Merlin's Beard, what was that for!?"

"For being a jerk!" Matt shouted back.

Harry put a hand to his cheek and tried to glare back. "What did I ever do to you?!"

"Not to me, to our friends!"

"Our friends?"

"Yes! Ron and Hermione."

"Ron doesn't think of you as his friend."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Not the point. The point is you're acting like a selfish brat right now."

"Just go away," Harry turned to walk away.

Matt, however, grabbed Harry and shoved him against the wall, pinning there. "Not until I've said what I want to say!"

"I don't care what you have to say!"

"Too bad, I'm going to say it!"

"Let me go!"

With the way they were shouting, Matt was very glad that he had found Harry wondering a hallway on the sixth floor that wasn't used very much. Harry had woken up before Ron and decided to slip out for some alone sulking time. Matt had gotten up later and spent the past two hours searching for him, which did not help Matt's level of frustration. "How much longer are you going to keep this up?!"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about!?"

"How much longer are you going to be stomping around the castle like a little brat?"

"I'm not stomping around the castle –"

"Yeah, and I'm an idiot." Matt softened his voice, "Look I know this new situation is hurting you –"

"You don't know anything!" Harry shouted back.

"But that does not give you the right to act like a selfish brat and think we're all just going to let you go on your bratty ways!" Matt shouted over Harry. He knew he was using brat a lot, but honestly, it fit so well.

"What do you want me to do!?"

"Give Ron a break!"

Harry stared at Matt, confused and shocked at the statement. Matt felt that Harry wasn't going to go anywhere, so he let him go.

"Give Ron a break. You're scaring him bad enough that he actually talked to me last night. Of his own free will."

"He talked to you last night?"

"With TK, Davis and Kari. Look, this affects all of us, whether you think so or not. Ken is our friend and I like think of you, Ron, and Hermione as my friends as well. Is it really so bad to think that Ken might be your half-brother?"

"It's not that," Harry finally admitted. "I've always wanted another family, one that wasn't the Dursleys, but I can't believe my dad would cheat on my mum."

"Okay, Kid, I'm going to tell you a heavy, serious truth," Matt put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Looking Harry dead in the eyes, he said in a grave voice, "Adults aren't perfect."

"No shit," Harry replied instantly.

"I mean it. They make as many mistakes as kids make, especially when it comes to emotions. If they had everything figured out, then there wouldn't be things like divorces or wars."

"And how does that make me feel better?"

"Maybe you'll feel better once you forgive your dad. It's not like sulking around is going to make him feel bad now. And if he was as great as you think he was, then I'm sure you couldn't inflict half the amount of pain he inflicted on himself for this."

"How would you know?"

"I don't. Wait, do you?" Harry didn't answer. "You don't even know? I would imagine Professor Lupin would have told you . . . if you had given him the chance, that is."

"Are you telling me to go talk to Professor Lupin?"

"Me, suggest something reasonable and responsible?" Matt's eyebrows flew up in mock surprise.

"And what if I don't want to hear it?"

"I think you're passed the wanting stage. It's no longer a matter of if you want to know or not. Now you've _got_ to know. If it's as bad as you imagine, then you'll have every reason to sulk."

"All right, fine," Harry said begrudgingly.

"You're welcomed."

Harry made a face at Matt and walked away, towards the stairs.

Matt hung out for a little bit longer and then took a slightly different way back to the dorms, just to make sure Harry had his space.

"Now if only I could get a hold of Ken," Matt muttered, very unhappy that he missed breakfast.

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

After a nice Sunday lunch in the Great Hall, Cody found Professor Sprout heading back to the Hufflepuff dorms. As far as Cody could tell, Professor Sprout was the most hands-on Head of House. From what his friends told him, Professor McGonagall rarely showed up in the common room and never wanted to be bothered unless it about behavioral issues or homework. Professor Flitwick, by Ken's account, encouraged his students to solve their problems by themselves. Cody had no idea what kind of Head of House Professor Snape was, but he couldn't see the man sitting down and listening to the Slytherin kids' problems.

Professor Sprout, however, had posted actual office hours so her students could know when to get a hold of her. She'd also call in students if she thought they were having troubles, not just with homework but with anything. And although Professor Sprout doesn't lurk in the common room, she does make more appearances than any of the other the Heads, as far as Cody could figure. The Hufflepuffs prided on the fact that their Head of House was so approachable.

But right now, it was giving Cody an uneasy feeling. He liked Professor Sprout, who was always trying to give Cody little encouragements to socialize more, and he didn't like letting her down.

"Professor Sprout?" Cody called when he was a few steps away from her.

Professor Sprout turned around. "Ah, Mr. Hida! I've been meaning to talk to you. Why don't you walk with me to the dorms?"

"Oh, no thank you, I'm going meeting up with my friends outside soon."

"A much better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Have you talked to your grandfather?"

"Yes. And, I'm sorry but I can't do a Kendo Club!" Cody bowed and rambled off the sentence as fast as he could.

"Oh?"

"You see, it's very improper for a student to teach Kendo, even if it's just the basic. A lot of things could go wrong."

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess you're just going to have to start up a Japanese Club."

Cody blinked. "What?"

"I've been thinking. A Japanese Culture Club would probably draw in more students than a Kendo Club. Each week, you could tell us a little bit about where you've grown up, traditions you have, and so on. You can even get your other friends to help out, as well. I look forward to seeing what you planned!"

"Wait, Professor Sprout!" Cody called out as she walked off at a brisk pace.

"The first meeting will be two weeks from now, Thursday night!" she called over her shoulder. Cody saw just enough of her profile to make out a smile.

**End Chapter Eleven:**_** Stormy Weather**_

* Tell Oley = Television. I've heard TV being called the tellie before and I'm pretty sure it's British/European, but I'm not a hundred percent on it. In any case, I decided Tell Oley would be Ron's mispronunciation of tellie.


	13. New and Old Relations

Title: The Digital Meets the Magical

Chapter Twelve: New and Old Relations

Author: Dragon Starbo

Beta Reader: BlackRain88

Rating: PG, for now

Genre: Parody/Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Digimon. Never have, never will.

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for your reviews! There's a 120 of them! I can't believe I have that many. I apologize for taking so long – I was kidnapped by aliens who needed my secret sugar cookie recipe. Don't worry, I was rescued by space pirates who dropped me off three galaxies away from home and then I had to hitchhike. Oh, as a side note: Never eat Gabordian cheese.

**Chapter Twelve: New and Old Relations**

"Harry…" Professor Lupin said hesitantly to the boy in the door way. Harry didn't look like he wanted to be there. He had a tight grip on his wand but it was pointed down and seemed to be there as a reassurance.

Despite Harry's rigid demeanor, he stepped into the classroom and said, "Tell me how it happened."

Lupin didn't need any more explanation. He beckoned Harry to sit at one of the desks and turned the one in front of him around. Sitting down at the makeshift table, Lupin was able to catch Harry's eye, which seemed to want to wonder all around the room.

"First off, Harry, I have to stress two important things. Your mother loved you and your father with all her heart. And your father loved you and your mother with all his heart."

"If my father loved my mother, then why did he do it?"

"It's not that simple. Your parents got married during the war against the Dark Lord. Both of them were on the front lines, facing off against the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. They were madly in love and they were madly brave. But that wasn't enough to sustain a life, especially in those times. They were fine financially – James' inherited enough money to support them through the war.

"And they were the happiest when you came, Harry. You couldn't have been born to two more loving parents then those two. But the war and their rolls in it took a turn that neither of them expected. I will say this now. Lily was always the more rational of your parents. Your father, for all his smarts and quick-thinking, tended to throw caution to the wind and go for it. This caused as much trouble as it got him out of, but that was your father. I don't think anything short of chains could've kept your father away from the war. He believed whole heartedly in our side and knew that if we kept fighting, we would win."

"My mum didn't see it that way," Harry said.

"Lily wanted to choose their missions more carefully, to think before they flew off. Your father thought enough to come up with strategies for the mission, but he never thought of turning down a mission." Lupin put his hand up to silence Harry's retort. "Your mother was no coward. Most wizards would not do what she did.

"The point is that this lead to arguments. First they were disagreements, then debates, but they soon began fighting. I was busy during this time and I do not know all of what happened or what they were fighting about. But one night, Lily contacted me and asked for help. They had had a huge fight, James had stormed out, and she couldn't find him.

"I looked all night for him while Lily watched after you. He was in one of the last places I thought to look – a muggle pub. I should have looked there, but there were a few wizard places in Heamoor at the time and it just didn't occur to me. I don't know what happened in that pub, but I found James the next morning in an alley way of a hotel on the same block, reeking of booze and panicking."

Harry's eyes were wide, half-disbelieving that Lupin was telling him this. Weren't adults supposed to hide their mistakes and faults from kids? Then Harry realized that hiding mistakes at this point in time was useless. He didn't say anything but let Lupin tell the rest of the story.

"James couldn't remember anything that happened that night. He recalled, vaguely, fighting with Lily, but the next thing he knew, he was waking up in a strange room with a strange woman. He got out of the room as soon as he could without waking her and I found him soon after. He was so distressed, so wracked with guilt. He couldn't believe what he had done.

"Harry, he almost told Lily. He wanted to. I stopped him. He couldn't remember that night. As far as he knew, the woman took pity on him and let him sleep in her room – ridiculous, I know, but it calmed him down. I convinced him that there was no sense in telling Lily what might or might not have happened. It would just upset her and bring nothing but misery. I was foolish to suggest such things, but Lily was my friend, as well, and I didn't want to see her in such pain."

There was a long pause where the two wizards stared at each other.

"So my dad never told my mum."

"And I never told anyone, until now."

Harry looked down at the desk, riding the conflicting emotions that surged through him. He couldn't figure out what to say Professor Lupin, if he should be angry, relieved, happy, or sad. It was a lot to take in.

Finally, Harry asked, "Can we practice some now?"

Lupin smiled gently. Even though it was Monday, not Thursday, and Lupin had many things to grade, he felt that this was more important. "Sure, Harry. Let me get the Bogart."

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

"Ken Ichijouji!" Hermione huffed. She stormed over to the boy who was trying to walk rapidly away. He was almost to the Ravenclaw dorms when she caught him.

All of last week and the weekend Ken had made himself scarce, avoiding everyone that he could. He woke up early to eat breakfast before his friends got to the Great Hall, he ate the candy from Hogsmeade over the day and if he had a need to go to the library, he went in between classes. Other than that, he stayed in his Ravenclaw common room, always with a book open even if he wasn't reading it.

He was still reeling from what Professor Lupin had told him and every time he thought about bringing it up, his throat clenched tightly shut. He knew he was worrying his friends, both here and at home. If his mind entertained the idea of writing home, it would quickly ask what he would write. "Dear Mom and Dad: how are you? The weather over here is cold and raining, but it's improving. Classes are still a challenge and I found out I have an English half-brother. See you over the summer, Ken."

Ken couldn't write that letter and he couldn't lie to his parents. So with his inability to speak or write about it, he hid from it and the rest of the world. He knew this couldn't go on forever; nevertheless, he was unable to move forward.

Until Hermione was literally shoving him down the hallway, one hand pushing his back, the other with a firm grip on his robes. The Ravenclaw boy was kicking himself for not moving quicker (being Wednesday, he almost had another week under his belt) but did his best to get a word in edge wise as the fuming Hermione lectured him all the way to the library.

"Honestly, I don't know what has gotten into you. Just because you're a Ravenclaw does not make you smarter than everyone else! Oh sure, Ravenclaws are known for their intelligence, but they didn't get that way by skipping their tutoring sessions!"

"I didn't think Raven –"

"You get my point! They _study_ and they do what they have to in order to keep ahead of their studies. They do not skip out on lessons."

"You don't tea –"

"You know what I mean! And if I can take on extra classes and spare the time to help you, _you_ can take the time to show up!"

"You take on –"

"Finish that sentence and I'll get Peeves to go after you! Now, you have missed a whole week's worth of tutoring sessions and I am not going to let you miss another one. So sit down and open a book!"

Although they had entered the library, Hermione did not remove her grip until they were at the table, where the other Japanese students were – shocked and amused. Ken quickly avoided their eyes and sat at the last spot left, which was his usual one in between TK and Cody. The two had kept his area clear as if they had expected him to show up at any moment during the week.

Hermione didn't give them time for discussion and started immediately on their homework. She hovered over Ken and pelted him with questions about keeping up with his homework. Yes, he had been doing it. Yes, he double checked the facts. Of course he wrote neatly and even started over if he made too many errors.

Though the questioning was annoying, Ken took it all in stride, not wanting to stir anything up. All he wanted to do was keep his head down and get out of there as soon as possible.

But any hopes of getting out of there without talking about his new dilemma was dashed the moment Hermione went off to find an obscure text.

"Are you okay, Ken?" Kari asked.

"I'm fine," Ken muttered.

"Are you mad at us?"

Ken glanced up, surprised at the question. "No, I'm not."

"Then why are you avoiding us?"

"I . . . I can't –"

"You have a brother," Davis stated bluntly. "It's not like you have cancer."

Ken openly gaped at his long-time, goggle-wearing friend.

"It's not the end of the world, no matter how melodramatic your e-mail to us was," Davis said. He and the others were surprised to find an e-mail sent to all of them by Ken that night. All it had said was: Harry Potter is my brother. And then he didn't answer their e-mails or give them a chance to talk to him in person. Davis was contemplating finding a way into the Ravenclaw dorms and slugging Ken for making them all worry so much.

"We understand this is tough," TK picked up the slack. "But you don't have to do it alone. We're here for you."

The others nodded in agreement and Ken felt a small wave of relief wash over him, subduing his fear. He gave them a weak smile. "I wish I was fighting Demon instead of dealing this."

"You have any idea on what you're going to do?" Cody asked.

Ken shook his head, feeling his throat swell again. "I think I can avoid him for the rest of the school year."

"That doesn't sound like the Ken I know."

"The Ken you know doesn't have a cheating mother," Ken snapped before he could stop himself.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked from behind Ken, picking the worst moment to come back within ear shot.

Ken froze, so Matt spoke up for him. "Ken's found out that he has a brother."

"Oh," Hermione seemed uncertain about what to think of the news. She sat back down and pushed a stack of books out of the way to see Ken. "This is why you haven't shown up for the past week?"

Ken nodded and Matt spoke, "It's really hard on him, because of how it happened and what it means."

Hermione nodded sagely, putting the pieces as fast as her reputation as a brain dictated. "Your mom and a man other than your father. . ." she trailed off when Ken wince. "Who's your brother?"

_Sam_, Ken almost said automatically but stopped himself short.

"Harry," Matt said. "Harry Potter."

For once, Hermione was speechless.

For about two seconds. Then she found her voice and nearly got them kicked out of the library as she berated them for not telling her sooner.

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Another few days passed and Ken was found in the Great Hall again, happy to be eating all three meals again. He had never thought he could be sick of candy, but he didn't want to see another chocolate frog for the rest of the year. He didn't sit with his friends at the Gryffindor table but welcomed them (and Cody from the Hufflepuff table) to sit with him at the Ravenclaw table, where he faced away from the Gryffindor table.

The more his friends talked to him, the more Ken seemed to relax. They reminded him over and over that they were there for him and he's been through worse and he has the strength to get through this. It was great for Ken to hear, something he needed to hear, and soon he realized what he needed to do.

Actually, it was Kari almost threatening him that if he didn't speak with Harry, she'd find a way to make his life completely miserable by way of hexes and curses. When Ken finally gave into her demands, she revealed that TK and Matt had been talking to Harry and Harry wanted to talk to him as well. He was just at a loss at how to approach Ken. So Kari and TK took it upon themselves to set up a meeting time and place.

And that's how Ken ended up outside, bundled up against the snow, leaning against a wall of the castle, having an argument with himself. He knew this had to be done – not just to avoid Kari's spells, which was her best form of magic – but it was like jumping off a cliff. It was scary as hell and he knew he'd never be the same afterwards.

They chose to meet outside because, frankly, it was a Saturday morning and nearly every student was tired of being cooped up in the castle all week. The days were short and cold, with night coming too fast for any real fun outside after classes. The Hogwarts students either had snow ball fights, built snow sculptures, or even just sat on one of the ice-cold stone benches and talked, but they tended to stay close to the castle and each other. Not that they feared anything out in the fields, but other than the frozen lake that they ice skated on, what was the point of walking off for snow when it was right there?

Ken found this spot on the west side of the castle for the precise reason that no one was around. Shrouded in shadows until the afternoon, it was just a little too cold to play in.

Harry soon found Ken and the desire to bolt rose quickly in Ken, but he fought it down.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Harry went over and stood next to Ken, almost feeling the cold stones of Hogwarts through his winter clothes. "Have you wrapped your head around this?"

"No, not really."

"Yeah, me neither, I guess. I never thought my dad would do such a thing."

"I never thought my mom was capable of this, either."

"If it helps, I think she was drunk."

Ken looked at Harry, confused.

Harry went on, "Professor Lupin was friends with my parents. He found my dad the day after and my dad was drunk as a skunk. It might've been the same with your mum."

Ken looked off at the snowy fields and thought about it. "So, I'm the result of a drunken mistake."

Harry realized his error in an attempt to save Ken's mom's reputation in Ken's eyes. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's okay," Ken managed a weak half-smile. "How I came to life really isn't so important. My parents never treated me like anything else because of it." A moment of silence passed between them and Ken, itching for it to stop, said, "I'm sorry about your parents."

Harry shrugged and quickly changed topics. "I think we can become brothers."

"Harry, I can't."

"What do you mean?"

Ken sighed, knowing now he had come too far and couldn't step around the fact any more. "I had a brother."

"Had?"

"His name was Sam. He was a genius, a true genius, and our parents loved to show him off. I was jealous of him for it, but I still idolized him. One day, I don't know what I was thinking, I was just so angry, I ran out into traffic. Sam came after me…"

Harry nodded, not needing to hear any more. He let Ken have a moment before saying, "I'm not going to replace Sam. I don't think I'd ever be smart enough to replace him."

Ken felt his mouth twitch at the humor but it quickly faded.

"But I get it, I guess. How about we start off as friends?" Harry held out his hand.

Ken looked at it, and then slowly took it. He could do friends.

"So my friends and I need to head off to charm practice. You want to join us?"

"Yeah."

"Professor Flitwick hasn't let us have any more battles since that one time you dropped by."

"I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking anything to get out of this cold."

dmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmmdmm

Two weeks later, on the Thursday night right after dinner, the turn out to the Japanese Club was more than Cody would have guessed. All of his friends showed up, so did Jason Weldon and Aaron Kerr, but he expected them. Harry and Ron had made up with Hermione that day – only for Hermione and Ron to get into anther fight because it looked like Crookshanks ate Scabbers – and they all made it. Harry and Ken had to sit between Ron and Hermione to make sure the two didn't start arguing during the meeting. Fred and George, on request of Matt, had decided to come as well.

Along with those twelve, five more students showed up and Cody was counting them as the real crowd. Professor Sprout had advertised a little by putting a note up on each dorm's bulletin board but it wasn't a large poster or flashy and Cody couldn't imagine many people being that interested anyway. A small number was just fine right now.

At seven o'clock sharp, Cody stood up in front of the fifteen students, bowed and said, "Welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Japanese Club. I'm Cody, the president of the club. I hope we can have a good time. In this club meeting, we'll be introducing ourselves and then talking a little bit about Japan. Let's go around the room and everyone tell a little bit about yourself."

Although Cody spoke clearly, it was obvious that he was nervous and unsure. That didn't inspire much confidence in those outside of the Japanese students, but they told a little bit about themselves. Megan Jones and Wayne Hopkins were Hufflepuffs, a third year and fourth year, respectively. Zachary Willow was a first year Slytherin and everyone was polite enough to hold their anti-Slytherin comments.

The last girl was very unusual with butterbeer corks for a necklace and two radishes as earrings. "I'm Luna Lovegood, Ravenclaw, and a second year. Tell me, are we going to talk about the Ai-Ai mermaids?"

Cody blinked. "The what?"

"The Ai-Ai mermaids. They live off of the coast of the southern tip of Japan and will lure sailors to their deaths unless they take a Blibbering Humdinger with them."

"What's a Blibbering Humdinger?" Zachary asked.

"There's no such thing!" Hermione interjected.

This did not stop Luna, who went on to describe the creature. Hermione kept insisting the creature wasn't real, but got under minded by Ron making comments on how Hermione wasn't a credible source – she hadn't taken Ron's warnings about Crookshanks the Murderer seriously, so why would she take anything else seriously? Hermione got angry right back at Ron for saying such horrible things and jumping to conclusions about her lovable Crookshanks, who Ron had always disliked since he landed on his head in the pet store.

Fred and George took this opportunity to mess with an impressionable first year Slytherin and added to Luna's story. This lead to Megan, Wayne, Jason, and Aaron getting into a debate about who could be telling the truth – although Jason and Aaron soon bored of it and were starting to talk about Quidditch.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Cody to get the room back under control and that was with the help of Matt. Deciding to move things along before anyone could get into another argument, Cody launched into his speech about manga and anime.

And bored them to tears. The full blooded wizards and witches didn't care about something that was popular with the muggles, the muggle-borns of the group were in the same boat or simply never got into manga and anime, and his friends had grown up with all their lives. The only one who seemed the least bit interested was Hermione, though even she found her attention wondering a bit.

Cody went on for a half hour and then pulled out some English translated manga Mimi had sent him on his request. Due to the shipping costs by owl, he only had a handful, so they'd have to share. But then Cody realized that Fred and George had already slipped out. Jason and Aaron were heading out and the other two Hufflepuffs seemed to be debating on whether or not to follow them. Zachary was talking to Luna again, this time about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, and Ron was trying to shoot Hermione daggers with his eyes.

Hermione got up and said, "I'm sorry, Cody, but I have homework to finish. Your talk about manga and anime – it was lovely."

Cody didn't believe her for a second but Ron got up and marched over to Cody and picked up a manga. He said a bit loud, so Hermione could hear as she left the room, "I have homework to finish as well, but I'm not rude and will stay for the _whole_ meeting."

Harry had to leave soon after to make it to his extra lessons with Professor Lupin. Megan and Wayne politely took a manga but looked less than thrilled to do so and bolted for the door five minutes before eight. Soon all were left were his friends, Ron, and Luna and Zachary – and those two might as well have not been there as they were deeply engrossed in their own conversation.

Cody went over to his friends, sat down, and buried his heads in his hands. He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but Cody still didn't look up, not wanting anyone to see his embarrassed, beet red face.

**End Chapter Twelve:**_** New and Old Relations**_


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